The Assassin Comes
by Goth Albino Angel
Summary: What if it had been Alek to die rather than Jasmine and Valentina had lived cause no one knows whether or not she did anyway Well, this is my take on it. Try it out for me, please?
1. Chapter 1

**_It kind of makes me sad the lack of Chloe/Jasmine stories. I thought I would contribute to the growing cause. _****_Ok, my first Chloe King (and maybe my last, not sure if I want to write another one after this. Well, anyway. Hope you like it. ^_^_**

**_I don't own the Nine Lives of Chloe King. Wish I did, Jasmine and Chloe would have made a purrfect couple._**

* * *

Jasmine and Alek opened the door to the apartment and caught sight of Valentina on the floor. They looked up at Zane and immediately attacked; while Alex fought Zane, Jasmine ran over to Valentina and began trying to help her.

"Mom?" Jasmine asked frantically.

"He's got the antidote, Jasmine." Valentina said hoarsely. "He has the antidote."

Alek must have heard because his ears flicked and he began watching what Zane did while fighting. At last, Alek moved in and feinted to the left. Zane took the bait and moved left to block him, only to find that Alek went right and took the needle holding the antidote.

"Jasmine!" He called, tossing her the needle.

Jasmine caught it and injected it into Valentina as Zane growled in fury. Alex turned to grin smugly at Zane only to find a knife in his path. The knife sliced into him, causing the blonde Mai to gasp in shock. Zane grinned at him evilly and watched as he fell to the ground. Jasmine and Valentina both stared as Alex's body collapsed to the ground and he turned his head to look at them.

"Alek." Valentina whispered.

"You traitor!" Jasmine hissed, lunging at Zane with another knife in hand.

"Jasmine no!"

Jasmine ignored her mother and kicked Zane into the wall. Zane shook his head for a moment trying to figure out what was happening when everything went black as a cold blade sliced into his throat.

"Why would you do that?" Valentina demanded of her daughter. "He was our only lead on the Order." Jasmine turned to her mother with fire in her eyes.

"Excuse me for having feelings!" she shouted. "Excuse me if I'm angry that he killed my cousin. And that it was a huge mistake to date him! And that the one time I try to distract myself from my real love interest by dating someone else, it ends in my cousin being gutted! And-."

"Wait," Jasmine stopped and looked at her mother, furious tears in her eyes and leaking down her cheeks. "What do you mean, real love interest?"

Jasmine shook her head. "I have to go find Chloe and make sure nothing's happened to her while I was waiting for my date."

Valentina gave her daughter a quizzical look as Jasmine hurried out the door.

* * *

"He's dead Amy." Chloe sobbed into her friend's shoulder. "I killed him!"

Amy patted her friend's back softly and looked up as doors opened. Glancing back, she and Paul saw Jasmine slowly making her way forward.

"What happened?" she asked softly, taking in the body of Brian and the bullet-holes in Chloe's shirt.

"Chloe came out this way to meet her dad and it was a trap." Paul said. "Brian heard the shots and came running. When he saw Chloe dead he kissed her and that's when she came back to life, kissing him back. When Amy and I got in here, he was dead and Chloe was crying like she is now." Jasmine slowly made her way over to Chloe and tried to pat her back. Chloe flinched away from her and glared at her.

"I don't want to be around you, or Alek, or any other Mai ever again. I hate you all." Chloe hissed, turning on her heel and running out, sobbing. Amy and Paul turned to Jasmine to comfort the other girl to find her ready to break down as well.

"Sh-she h-hates me?" Jasmine asked, her voice quivering.

Paul stepped forward. "I'm sure she didn't mean it…"

"Yeah, she'll get over it once she stops grieving…" Amy added pulling Paul away.

"Chloe's never said anything like that before." Amy hissed to Paul.

"I think she really does hate Jasmine and the other Mai." Paul said sadly. At that moment Jasmine fell to her knees and began bawling. "I think she heard me." Paul whispered.

"Ya think?" Amy asked sarcastically as she moved closer to the crying Mai. "Jasmine, come on, it'll be fine. Chloe has to still like you, I mean you're her protectors, you and Alek. Besides, she loves Alek, she can't hate him." Jasmine, if possible, cried harder at this.

"No!" she screamed, standing up. "I can't have her hate me! It hurts too much, it hurts!" Jasmine made to move back toward the door when she swayed on her feet and fell to the floor. Amy and Paul raced over to check her and found that she had passed out.

"What do you think she meant, it hurts too much?" Paul asked Amy. Amy looked up at him and shook her head, signaling that she didn't know what it meant.

* * *

_**I know it's short, But the coming ones should be longer. They appear to be anyway, only one way to find out, right? ;) Review and tell me what you think so far.**_


	2. Chapter 2

**_I'm really happy with the number of reviews I've gotten so soon, so to reward you guys, here's chapter two._**

* * *

**Chapter two**

Chloe walked hurriedly through the streets of San Francisco, trying to get away. Away from Brian, away from Amy, away from Paul and Jasmine and Valentina and the Mai… away from everything. "I can't believe Brian's dead. And I killed him." Chloe sighed.

She knew she didn't really hate Jasmine and the other Mai, especially Alek and Jasmine. She was very close to both, she just couldn't believe Brian was dead and things had come out of her mouth. Deciding to head over to Jasmine's apartment to apologize, Chloe changed course. Climbing to the floor on which the apartment resided, Chloe thought that Jasmine probably wouldn't want to talk to her now that she'd said such a horrible thing to her, but persisted anyway, finally coming to a stop in front of the door to Valentina's apartment. Slowly raising her hand, Chloe knocked gently and the door was opened a few seconds later.

"Hey, is Jasmine here?" Valentina shook her head and allowed Chloe to come in.

"When she left here after the fight with Zane, she said she was going to make sure you're ok. Are you saying she hasn't found you?" Chloe shook her head.

"She found me and tried to comfort me over Brian's death, but I… I said such awful things to her and stormed away."

"Brian's death?" Chloe nodded.

"He kissed me once I died and I came back to life and kissed him back before realizing that he was human."

"You died?"

"This chick with red hair shot me and I ended up dying again."

"Only seven lives left. Are you aright?"

"Yeah. What about that fight with Zane?"

"He attacked me with a poison dart. It was because of Alek that I'm still alive. But Zane got Alek as well and now he's dead." Chloe's eyes filled with fresh tears.

"Where was Jasmine?" she asked through gritted teeth.

"Helping me. She tried to get the antidote as well but Alek got it first."

"So she just let him kill Alek?" Chloe demanded, outright furious now.

"No, she killed Zane just after he killed Alek." Chloe lowered her head.

"Oh." Maybe she was being too hard on Jasmine. At that moment, Amy and Paul walked through the door carrying an unconscious Jasmine.

"What happened to her?" Valentina demanded.

"She was going after Chloe saying that she couldn't have Chloe hating her when she stopped and just collapsed." Paul told them.

Valentina looked at Chloe in confusion as the blonde stood and walked over. Jasmine began stirring and Paul and Amy set her down. Sitting up slowly, the brunette moaned and put a hand to her head.

"Wh-where am I? Is Chloe ok?"

Looking up, Jasmine saw everyone staring at her. "What?" she asked.

"You just asked about Chloe." Valentina told her.

"Yeah, so?"

"You didn't ask about Alek or Zane, just Chloe." Jasmine looked down blushing.

"Well, I already knew Zane and Alek were dead, but some of the guys that attacked Chloe could have still been lurking somewhere waiting for her."

Chloe moved forward and Jasmine caught sight of her. Tears sprang to Jasmine's eyes as she took in the other Mai.

"You still hate me?" The tan girl asked softly.

"No, Jasmine, I'm sorry I said that to you. I'm even more sorry now because you've lost Alek and I know you loved Zane and… I'm really sorry."

Jasmine nodded and hugged Chloe gently, not sure how the blonde girl would react. To her surprise, Chloe broke down in her arms, crying for her two lost loves. Jasmine slowly cooed to her and Amy and Paul nearly gasped aloud at the look of love Jasmine sent down to Chloe while she comforted the other Mai.

Valentina's jaw clenched at seeing this side of her daughter; Jasmine hadn't even given that look to Zane even though she claimed to love him. But that was all it was: a claim. Now it was obvious to the leader of the San Francisco Mai clan that her daughter had always had her eyes set on the Uniter from the beginning.

Valentina cleared her throat and said, "Chloe, why don't you stay here tonight? I'll call your mom and tell her that you and Jasmine are having a sleepover, but you still need to be protected. Especially after the events of tonight. I'll send some Mai over to protect your mother just in case, but…" Chloe nodded and sighed.

"Where should I sleep?" she asked.

"You can sleep in my room." Jasmine murmured. "I'll sleep on the couch."

Chloe opened her mouth to argue, but Jasmine shook her head.

"No arguing. You need a comfortable bed more than I do. I protect you, not the other way around. Go get some sleep. I have a spare pair of pajamas in my top dresser drawer. Go get changed and get some rest." Chloe nodded and Amy looked at Paul.

"She never agrees to anything like that." She said so softly she had to be really close to his ear for him to hear her. "She's usually stubborn about it." Paul nodded as he watched Chloe go into Jasmine's room and shut the door.

"Do either of you need a ride home?" Valentina asked the two humans.

"No," Amy replied. "We'll do fine on our own."

Valentina nodded and turned to her daughter. "We need to talk."

Amy and Paul took that as their signal to leave and hurried out the door. Jasmine looked after them before turning to her mother.

"Talk." She said, crossing her arms.

"You have feelings for the Uniter." Valentina said bluntly.

Jasmine shrugged. "So?"

"You know she was meant to be Alek's"

"Says who, Mom?" Jasmine asked. "What in the prophecy indicates that Alek was hers? Because if that were the case, fate would have prevented him from dying, don't you think? That just proves that Alek merely thought it was supposed to be him because he was the only guy in the family. Nothing said Chloe was meant to be with HIM."

Valentina stared at her daughter hard and saw the signs of love all over. The protective stance with which she was standing in a defensive crouch facing away from her own bedroom door and the fire in her eyes whenever she spoke of Alek and Chloe being together.

"All those extra patrols weren't meant so that you could better your training." Valentina whispered. Jasmine shook her head.

"Alek never saw me. He always thought it was just him. Never did he even try to sense the scent of other Mai. Had he, then he would have found mine, but he was so confident in his love for Chloe that he didn't bother. He thought that he was the only one that needed to protect her."

Jasmine stopped and sighed. "But if it's not him and it's probably not me either then who could it be?"

"How do you know it's not you?" Valentina asked.

"Chloe's not into girls like that." Jasmine said. "She had two different boyfriends after all."

"Really?" Valentina raised an eyebrow. "She seemed drawn to Amy. And the Brazilian Twins. And you."

Jasmine shook her head. "There's no way Chloe's into me how I am to her."

Valentina sighed, knowing her daughter would not give in to the idea of someone loving her. She knew that was mainly her fault for scaring away anyone that tried to get close to Jasmine.

"You should probably get some sleep." Valentina said. "You've been through a lot tonight. By the way, how did you pass out?"

Jasmine looked up at her mother. "It hurt to know Chloe hated me. Hurt so much the pain became too much and I couldn't take it."

Valentina nodded, deciding to look more into the prophecy. "Good night Jasmine." She said softly, heading for her own room.

* * *

**_See, it's longer than the first one. Still, I hope you like it and review it. Thanks!_**


	3. Chapter 3

**_Ok, i decided to upload this one too, just to get some of the edge off and to get some memory open on my computer. Check it out and tell me what you think. I think you'll like it! ^_^_**

* * *

**Chapter three**

In the morning, Chloe woke up and stretched. There was a wonderful smell whirling around her and the blonde sniffed. She glanced around and found that she was in Jasmine's room. Slowly getting out of bed, Chloe looked around and spotted her clothes on top of the dresser. She quickly got dressed and was opening the drawer to put Jasmine's two–piece pajamas back when what was inside caught her eye and she quickly pushed it shut again. A slight blush was creeping up her cheeks as she realized she was imagining Jasmine wearing the assorted lingerie Jasmine had. Chloe decided to leave the pajamas on the dresser top and slipped out of the room. She went to the kitchen and found Jasmine already up.

"Do you eat eggs, bacon, pancakes, hash browns, and scrabble?" Jasmine asked without turning away from the stove.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes and what?" Chloe replied.

"Scrabble, it's an eastern United States meat eaten mainly at breakfast time. It's somewhat like sausage, but much tastier."

Chloe shrugged. "Ok, I'll try it." Jasmine nodded and flipped one last pancake onto a plate before carrying it over to the counter already filled with the assorted food.

"So how did you sleep last night?" Jasmine asked conversationally as she and Chloe filled their plates with food.

"Kind of had a few nightmares, but overall I feel rested. How about you?"

Jasmine shrugged and the blonde shot her a look. She saw the bags under Jasmine's eyes and asked, "Did you sleep at all last night?"

"Last night?" Jasmine asked. "Yes, I slept."

"What about the nights before that?" Chloe asked suspiciously.

Jasmine sighed. "Didn't get much sleep for many of the nights before last, no."

"Why not?" Chloe asked in concern.

"Patrolling." Jasmine replied calmly.

"Me?" the blonde asked.

Jasmine shrugged nonchalantly, but Chloe wasn't buying it. As Jasmine walked over to the couch to put her blankets away before she ate, Chloe jumped her and pinned her to the couch. Jasmine struggled, but despite the sleep she got last night, her body was still really tired.

"Ok, why haven't you been getting any sleep?" Chloe demanded.

Jasmine's breath sped up at feeling the other girl's breasts and crotch against her own.

"I already told you." Jasmine said, stopping her struggles. "I was patrolling."

"For who?" Chloe demanded.

"Bunch of different people that need to be protected…" Jasmine told her, not looking her in the eye.

"You were patrolling me weren't you?" Chloe said smugly.

"Yeah. So?" Jasmine said defensively.

"Because you could have just told me. I didn't know you stayed up looking after me too. Alek never mentioned that you were with him."

"Because I wasn't. I was watching you separately from him."

"Why?" Chloe asked in confusion.

"Because I didn't want him to ask questions." Jasmine told her now effectively turning her neck to stare anywhere but at Chloe.

"But why didn't you just tell anyone? Why didn't you want questions being asked?"

"Because… because… just because ok?" Jasmine spat.

"No, not ok. What's gotten into you Jasmine?"

"Nothing!" Jasmine snarled. "Now get off or I'll make you get off."

"I'm not getting off until you answer me."

Jasmine growled and flipped them over, climbing off the stunned Chloe and storming down the hall with her blankets. "I'll be right back." She called."

Chloe scratched her head, wondering what had just happened. She had been flipped, that was obvious. But she hadn't even felt Jasmine's weight, as though the brunette didn't want to be on top of her. And her breathing had gone so erratic when Chloe had been on top of her. Chloe decided to look more into what Jasmine's been up to. When Jasmine returned, Chloe had decided to start eating. As the tan girl began eating as well, Chloe looked up at her.

"Jasmine?" the brunette looked up at her warily. "Wanna do something today? Just the two of us?"

Jasmine cocked her head to the side and slowly nodded. Chloe smiled and reached across the table to grab her hand. As she touched Jasmine, a spark shocked them both and Jasmine hurriedly pulled her hand away. Chloe looked at her in confusion only to see Jasmine putting her plate in the refrigerator.

"What's wrong?" the blonde asked.

"Not hungry." Jasmine told her.

Chloe nodded slowly and finished her breakfast. "Do you mind if-."

"We need to stop by your house anyway, to make sure your mom knows you're alright."

Chloe stared at her in surprise, but nodded all the same and headed out.

* * *

"That little wretch killed my son!" Whitley snarled.

"Well, he kissed her." Simone replied.

"She came back to life and kissed him back." Whitley shouted.

"She didn't realize it was him. She thought it was the Mai boy, Alek."

"Still, she didn't stop fast enough to save him."

Simone sighed. "Have it your way, Whitley, but that one was more your son's fault than hers. And his feelings got him killed."

Whitley snarled at her and stormed away to confront one of his best assassins.

"What can I do for you, Boss?" the strange accent still crept Whitley out, but he had learned not to let it show.

"I want you to kill someone for me." Whitley told the person sitting across from him.

"Is it someone that's an actual threat to the company?"

"It was, but now it's more personal. She killed my son."

"She?" the voice grew interested. "We aren't talking about my cousin, the Uniter are we?"

Whitley's eyes widened in surprise. "She's your cousin?"

"Why yes," the person said calmly. "I have been wanting to meet her for quite some time now."

"So then you won't kill her?" Whitley was outraged that his best assassin was related to the bane of his existence.

"Oh, if she proves herself worthy of being related to me then I won't but if she is too weak or stupid, then yes, I will kill her. You had better hope for your sake, Boss, that she isn't worthy."

Whitley nodded. "Just get rid of her, Felina."

* * *

**Ooohhh, assassin alert! Let's see what happens to Chloe and Jasmine with this 'Felina' coming after Chloe.**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Getting bored with not updating so updating now. Check it out guys and see if you like it. ^_^_**

* * *

**Chapter four**

Chloe examined the golden dress with interest, wondering whether or not she could get it. Glancing at the price tag she immediately pushed that thought from her head, much too expensive. Chloe looked around for Jasmine and found her standing near the door, watching everyone in the room closely and watching anyone that came especially close to Chloe.

Chloe sighed. "This was a trip so we could both have fun, not so you could protect me while I shopped." Jasmine hung her head and Chloe cocked her head to the side.

"What's the matter?"

"It's just… I don't know how to have fun. Fighting, protecting, training… it's all I've ever known." Chloe nodded.

"Well then, I'll teach you how to have fun and then we can have fun together." Chloe caught her words and blushed. Jasmine merely nodded and let Chloe lead her further into the store.

"Ok, use the girl part of you and try to find a really good outfit." Chloe instructed.

Jasmine took a deep breath and looked around. "Ok, the red dress with the ruffles is cute, but the sleeves are too wide, the golden dress you were looking at was ok except that it looks expensive and so fragile one wrong move will tear it, and that pink one over there looks like someone would wear it to a really formal event but not to any teenage parties." Chloe gave her an impressed look.

"Good job, Jazzy." She praised.

"Jazzy?" Jasmine chuckled.

"It's a nice nickname." Chloe said defensively.

"That's like me calling you Clo, except yours sounds right foe me, you sound better with Chloe."

Chloe smiled at her and the two continued shopping. When they finally left the mall, they were laden with bags full of make-up and clothes.

"That was really fun Chloe." Jasmine told her happily.

"Glad you like it, Jasmine." Chloe replied. They were nearly to the car when both stopped.

"Do you hear that?" Jasmine asked.

"Yup." Chloe replied. "Sorry about your car."

Jasmine sighed. "Me too."

"Will your mom buy you a new one?"

"Maybe, I mean look at what's-."

"Yeah, it sucks."

Both girls turned and quickly jumped behind another car as Jasmine's car exploded. Standing, Chloe brushed herself off. "Well, it seems the Order is still trying to kill me."

Jasmine sighed. "Come on, I'll call my mom to come pick us up."

Chloe nodded and set her bags down as Jasmine pulled her cell phone out. "Hey Mom, do you think you could bring your car down to the mall and pick me and Chloe up?"

Chloe listened to Jasmine explain to her mother what happened, but an odd whirring sound filtered to her and she looked around. Just as she heard a shot, Jasmine tackled her, screaming, "Chloe Move!"

Next thing Chloe knew she was on the ground underneath a panting Jasmine with Valentina screaming through the phone. Jasmine paid no mind to her mother's frantic voice as she realized how close she was to Chloe. Quickly getting off the blonde, Jasmine helped her to her feet and took the phone back up.

"Hey Mom, I'm gonna have to call you back. I need to get Chloe to a secure location." Clicking the phone shut, Jasmine picked up their bags and began leading Chloe away.

Across the street, a fanged smile glinted in the shadows. "Hmm, my cousin seems to have a very good protector. But is her friend good enough to save her forever? This should be a fun game."

Putting away the gun, Felina stealthily followed the two girls walking away.

"Who do you think they've sent now?" Chloe asked as Jasmine led her to a slightly crowded McDonalds.

"I don't know, we haven't encountered many of the Order's assassins before, but the ones we have encountered have always been killed."

Jasmine looked out the window as she called her mother back and gave her their location. Chloe noticed the bags underneath Jasmine's eyes again and wondered how long it had been since the girl had gotten a proper sleep. When the brunette hung up the phone, Chloe reached across the table.

"How long has it been since you've slept, Jazzy?" she asked in concern.

"Before last night?" Jasmine sighed. "Maybe a week or two."

Chloe's eyes widened. "You can't do that to yourself Jasmine. What if something were to happen to you?"

Jasmine shrugged. "Something would happen to me while I was on duty protecting you. Just like that first time. It's no big." Chloe's eyes flashed.

"Way big!" she said, her voice an octave or two higher. "You could get hurt. Or almost killed like that one night! It made my heart hurt to know that you had gotten hurt because of me! I don't want that happening. Tonight, you will sleep and I will sleep on the floor next to your bed and only wake you if I'm going somewhere. Got it? That way, you can sleep, and I'll be protected."

Jasmine cocked her head to the side and nodded, deciding that was a good idea.

"Alright." The tan girl nodded. "But remember, none of the Order's assassins has ever escaped us before."

"On the contrary," a voice said nearby. "One has, but I'll explain on the way back to the apartment."

Both girls looked up to see Valentina standing over them. Standing, the girls took their bags out and put them in the trunk before sliding into the car. Just as she shut her door, Chloe got a bad feeling and decided to get back out to check what it could be. Looking the car over, She didn't hear or see any trace of a bomb, so she knew the car wasn't going to blow up. Jasmine got out and looked around as well.

"You feel the bad vibes too?" Chloe asked.

"Yeah, it's like something's watching us, but from a really good distance and under really good cover."

"Come on, let's get out of here, fast."

Jasmine nodded and slid back into the car, letting Chloe take the front seat with her mother as she sat in the back. Glancing back, Jasmine thought she saw a shadow flicker on one of the buildings overlooking the McDonalds, but when she looked again, there was nothing there.

* * *

**_Tada! First encounter with Felina. Let's see what Valentina has to say ont he assassin that got away, eh?_**


	5. Chapter 5

**Here's chapter five for all you guys out there waiting. Rewards are sweet, right?**

* * *

**Chapter five**

They dropped Chloe's clothes and accessories at her house before heading back over to the apartment. As Jasmine made tea, Valentina and Chloe sat at the counter and Valentina began explaining the one assassin that got away.

"Her name was Felina." Valentina told the curious blonde. "She's the best assassin the Order has and is only sent if there is a true threat to the company. Not much is known about her because she seems to disappear into nothing and she keeps her body carefully hidden underneath a thick, long trench coat. No one's ever seen her face and anyone that hears her voice is dead within days if not hours. But she always leaves her name at the scene of her murders. We've been searching for her for years, but with so little information, we decided to let it drop until she came back."

"How do you know it's her now?" Chloe asked nervously. "It could be someone like that Rogue guy you killed."

Valentina shook her head. "He let you see him. It's definitely not him or someone like him anyway. This must be Felina since you saw the redheaded woman that killed you and the leader of the Order doesn't want us capturing her for interrogation so he's sent his finest after you."

Chloe began shaking in fear. "So like, all those other times my life was in danger are like kibble and bits next to this dog?" Valentina raised an eyebrow in confusion. "It means they were minimal compared to the major dangerousness this woman can pose to me?"

Valentina cocked her head before frowning and nodding gravely. "That means you need to be under closer lock and key, better protection because Felina could come from anywhere and attack."

Jasmine moved forward with the finished tea and sat a cup before each of them before sitting next to Chloe.

"CPO?" she asked after a moment.

"What?" Valentina asked.

"Close Protection Officer." Jasmine replied calmly.

"Jasmine, no way am I letting you-."

"It could help better my training." Jasmine told her. "It would help me gain experience. I thought that's what you wanted? The perfect combatant daughter."

Valentina's eyes grew hard. "Fine," Valentina told her through gritted teeth. "But let's hope for the sake of Bastet that you don't disappoint me."

Valentina picked up her tea and strode to her room. Jasmine watched her go before shrugging and turning to Chloe. The blonde was staring into her tea and Jasmine scooted closer to her.

"Hey Chloe, don't worry. We'll catch Felina. Or at least keep her from killing you."

Chloe looked up at Jasmine and saw the sincerity in the tan girl's eyes. Chloe looked deeper and found something else too, but she couldn't quite place what it was. Jasmine looked away before she had a chance to check it out. Chloe went back to her tea and thought on what had happened that day. Surely there couldn't be a deadly assassin after her just because some Order guy doesn't like her? Chloe sighed; that likely was the case.

* * *

"What do you mean you want to study her better first?" Whitley screamed.

"She seems to have very good reflexes. I want to study her other attributes while I attack her and see what she does and doesn't have in comparison to me. If she passes the many difficult tests, then I shall deal with her directly." Whitley huffed and threw his arms in the air.

"I'm not paying you to do tests on your targets!" he told her.

"It is because you pay me that I study them. I like to know their strengths and weaknesses to analyze the best way to kill them."

Whitley growled under his breath and stormed out of the room. Felina smiled to herself. She loved making her boss agitated because he knew he couldn't do anything about it. If he fired her, she would go join her cousin in a heartbeat and he knew it. Clicking her claws together, Felina began musing over her next plan of action. It seemed that both the Uniter and her protector had very good ears, but were their eyes and noses any good as well? Felina grinned.

"This should be fun."

* * *

**_God, i hate the short ones, but sometimes, they're the best, you know? Review and tell me what you think and I may post chapter six as well. *roll eyes and snorts* as if I had a choice I'm BORED. But show me some love anyway, kay?_**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks for being patient guys, here's the next chapter!**

* * *

**Chapter six**

"Jasmine, you really should sleep." Chloe told the tan girl when she woke up in the middle of the night to see Jasmine watching the window.

"I can't, Chloe." Jasmine told her. "You need to be protected at all times. Especially in the dark of night."

Chloe groaned and decided to try a new approach.

"Jasmine?" she asked in her sexiest voice, hoping the other girl wasn't so straight she would brush off the faux-advance without even giving Chloe a glance. To the Uniter's surprise, Jasmine's head whipped around to look at her.

"Would you sleep if I was in bed with you? This floor is pretty uncomfortable." Chloe watched as the tan girl stuttered over her words.

"S-sure." Jasmine finally sighed, glad to have gotten finished. Chloe slowly climbed onto the bed, moving precisely so her body swayed seductively. Jasmine looked hurriedly away and Chloe slid beside her.

"May I cuddle up to you Jasmine?" Chloe asked. "I usually cuddle up to the nearest thing in the bed, which is why I sleep with a stuffed animal every night. Sometimes Amy would volunteer to be my cuddle bear for our sleepovers." Chloe moved closer to Jasmine and stared into the surprised girl's eyes.

"Could you be my cuddle bear, Jasmine?" Chloe asked huskily.

"Wh-what do I have to do?" Jasmine asked uncertainly.

"Just stay still while I stroked you or fondled you in my sleep. It wouldn't be anything overly embarrassing to either of us. Please Jasmine?" Chloe batted her eyelashes and watched as Jasmine looked away and nodded.

Chloe grinned and slowly laid her head on Jasmine's chest. "Mm, very warm." Chloe continued, feeling Jasmine shiver beneath her. Slowly, Chloe's hand began stroking Jasmine's chest gently, trying to soothe the other girl to sleep. Gradually, Jasmine's breathing evened out and Chloe looked up to see that the other girl had fallen asleep. Smiling, the blonde drifted into sleep as well.

* * *

Across the street, looking into the room with thermal binoculars, Felina smiled at the image she saw.

"So the protector has feelings for her Uniter? How interesting. But the truly interesting thing is whether or not the Uniter loves her back. If not, playing with the protector's feelings is an added bonus. But for now, let's see how they're sense of smell is."

The assassin jumped down from the building and made her way to the building across the street. Climbing stealthily up the side of the building, Felina came to the protector's window and pried it open with her claws. Slipping the scented gas bomb inside, she slid the window shut again and climbed back down to await what would happen.

From across the street once more, she watched as the Uniter's nose twitched and then her protector's did as well. Both opened their eyes sleepily and looked to the window. The protector stumbled over to the window and opened it, noticing the small pellet of a bomb on her sill. She drew it up to eye level and her eyes widened in shock.

Quickly throwing the pellet out the window, she slammed the window shut and rushed back to the Uniter. She helped the girl to her feet since the blonde seemed to be a bit hazy on her feet. Just as the dizziness had begun, it ended and the Uniter accompanied the brunette out of the room.

"She got over the dizziness very quickly." Felina murmured. "Almost as quickly as me. And her protector was very well trained to recognize the gas bomb so quickly. Very good girls. Now let's see if you can see this coming."

Picking up her carry-on bag, Felina rummaged through it for a moment before finding what she needed. Aiming the laser pistol at the bedroom door, she fired and wrote her name in it.

"That ought to clue them in if they don't already know." The assassin put away her gun and jumped from building to building back to the Order's hideout, already planning her next plan of action.

* * *

_**There you go, now hurry and review and urge me to update faster!**_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter seven, ready and waiting to be read. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter seven**

Jasmine paced in the living room as Chloe sat on the couch watching her. "She managed to open a locked window." The brunette muttered to herself, looking up at the ceiling every once in a while. "She was at a good enough angle that she could write her name in my door through the window. God, this woman is as mysterious as a ghost and just as frustrating."

"Jasmine, please relax." Chloe sighed.

"I can't relax!" Jasmine snarled at her, still pacing. "She planted a poisonous gas in my bedroom and wrote her name in my door with a laser. That same laser could have severed your neck. I won't calm down."

Chloe looked at the near panic-stricken look in Jasmine's eyes and cocked her head to the side. "Jasmine, you don't have to be so worried about me. I can take care of myself."

"Not against a trained, armed, and extremely dangerous killer you can't!"

Chloe's eyes flashed and she stood. "Who are you to tell me that I can't face a dangerous killer?" she demanded.

"Your fucking CPO!" Jasmine roared.

Chloe took a step back in shock. She had never seen Jasmine like this; the tan girl practically radiated a mixture of fear and fury. "Jasmine…"

Jasmine shook her head and held up a hand. Chloe waited nervously as the other girl took a deep breath and opened her eyes. They were slit and yellow as Jasmine's lips pulled back over her teeth. "We WILL keep you safe, Chloe." She stated determinedly. "You won't end up like Alek. I won't, I can't, let that happen."

Chloe nodded, grabbing Jasmine's hands and stroking them in an effort to calm the other girl down. It worked almost instantly. Jasmine's eyes returned to brown and she visibly relaxed.

"I can't lose you Chloe." She said softly. "I've lost so much already." Chloe put an arm around Jasmine's waist comfortingly, not noticing Jasmine stiffen ever so slightly.

"Don't worry Jazzy." Chloe said soothingly. "We'll make them pay for what they did to Alek. They'll rue the day they ever sent Zane to us."

Jasmine looked down into Chloe's blue eyes and realized that she only meant to get revenge for Alek. Jasmine stifled a sob and nodded, turning away from Chloe and heading to her room.

As she fell to the bed, Jasmine cried into a pillow, knowing that Chloe's heart was too bent on Alek to ever straighten enough to see the brunette. The pain in Jasmine's chest grew as she thought of all the times she had watched Alek and Chloe together. _She'll never love me_. The brunette thought over and over again, falling deeper into her sadness.

* * *

Chloe watched Jasmine walk hurriedly away from her and heard the girl's bedroom door close quietly. _What was that all about?_ The blonde wondered to herself.

She approached Jasmine's door and heard faint sobbing. Chloe cocked her head in confusion and wondered, _What just happened?_

Concentrating hard, she tried to feel Jasmine's emotions through the barrier. She was hit with a whirlwind of emotion that soon had her crying out in pain from the overload of feelings. Jasmine's door opened and all of the emotions faded into just concern. Chloe slowly stood, panting from such a new experience.

"What happened?" Jasmine asked. "Did Felina try to attack you again?"

"No," Chloe shook her head. "I was walking past your door when this onslaught of emotions came at me and it hurt."

Jasmine cocked her head to the side. "I'm sorry, I was just thinking about so much stuff. I didn't know you could sense emotions just by being near a person."

Chloe shrugged and replied, "I was concentrating really hard on what to do about Felina so the concentration level must have picked up the emotions by accident."

Jasmine nodded, tilting her head slightly. "Do you need any aspirin or something?"

Chloe shook her head. "Ever since my sixteenth birthday, I've found that simple medicine pills won't work on me."

Jasmine gave her a sympathetic smile. "Shall we head back to sleep in the living room instead, then, since she's already broken into my room and deemed it unsafe?"

Chloe shrugged and went back into Jasmine's room to get her blanket. When Jasmine came back out with her own blankets, she found Chloe laid out on the floor and growled angrily.

"Chloe King if you don't get off that floor this instant!" Chloe jumped to her feet in surprise and looked around.

"What?" she asked in confusion. "What did I do?"

Jasmine glared at her. "You're sleeping on the couch."

"But-." Chloe began, but Jasmine's glare cut her off.

Nodding mutely, Chloe climbed onto the couch and Jasmine took up the place she had occupied a moment before. Chloe looked down and saw Jasmine lying with her back to the couch and watching the windows. Oddly enough, this made Chloe feel safe, even safer than when she had been with Alek. Slowly Chloe fell asleep on the couch, soothed that she was being watched over.

* * *

**Th****ere you go! Chapter eight is on its way. Review and tell me what you think so far.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter eight as promised.**

* * *

**Chapter eight**

"Her protector is very skilled indeed." Felina murmured, staring out the windows. "She seems to be more concerned with the Uniter's safety than her own. I don't see that very often in bodyguards or personal guards. If possible, I may try to keep from killing her."

The killer slowly walked away from the windows and down the corridor deep in thought. "They are both very durable indeed, they may actually live to see what I truly look like. Of course, if they see me, I'll have to kill them because they'll tell Valentina and that's the last thing the boss, Simone and I need."

Felina stared up at the ceiling for a moment and sighed. "Though, it would be nice to reveal myself to someone and not have them use me as a deadly weapon."

The assassin shrugged and continued to her room. Entering, she noted the absence of all of her things and growled.

"Boss!" she screamed, charging into his office, tucking and rolling to avoid the tranquilizer dart coming at her chest. She flipped into a standing position before jumping over another dart and pinning Simone to the floor.

"Where is all my stuff?" Felina demanded, turning my head to Whitley while keeping a firm hand on Simone's throat.

"We have moved you to a building closer to where you have been lately. Since the protector seems intent on keeping the Uniter at her place, we have moved you to the building across the street so you can keep a better watch on them and kill them both faster."

Felina raised an eyebrow. "Both? I thought it was just the blonde you wanted dead?"

"Her protector has become a hazard to the Order as well. I want them both dead by the end of next week or you are fired."

Felina laughed. "You won't fire me. You're so afraid the San Francisco Pride will take me that you won't even let me out unless it's to kill someone."

"We'll send all of our best assassins after you and see how you fare with them." Simone told her.

Felina merely continued giggling, but nodded all the same and swept out the door, not even needing to ask where she was now living. Entering her new temporary home, Felina looked around with a trained eye and began getting rid of the different ways people could kill her just from entering the front door. Once the house was checked over and deemed safe, Felina walked over to the window and gazed across the street at the apartment she was targeting.

"This is going to be a long two weeks." She muttered, heading to the bedroom to get some sleep.

* * *

Chloe woke up the next morning feeling very well rested. She glanced down to see that Jasmine was sleeping peacefully on the floor next to her. The blonde smiled and decided not to wake up the brunette just yet, knowing the girl needed the sleep. Heading to the bathroom, Chloe glanced in the mirror and was confused to see that her ears were pointed. She must have been having a Mai dream last night. Thinking back, Chloe tried to remember what her dream had been about but couldn't get much more than that she saw someone with tan skin and dark hair.

Shrugging it off, Chloe began getting ready for the day before remembering that she had dropped all of her clothes off at her own house. The Uniter thought about waking Jasmine but shook that idea off because her house wasn't that far away. Grabbing her jacket, Chloe left a note for Jasmine and headed out the door in the direction of her house.

Walking at a fast pace because of the slight (very slight) chill running down her spine, Chloe made it to her house and climbed into her own bedroom window. Gathering her clothes together into an overnight bag, Chloe grabbed her necessities and headed back out. A chill shot down her spine when she was right down the street from Jasmine's apartment and she glanced around nervously. Just as she began walking again, a figure dropped down in front of her and made her jump back with a small scream.

"Chloe!" Jasmine shouted, stepping closer and checking the younger girl over for any marks or scratches.

"You should have woken me up!" Jasmine scolded her gently. "I could have been Felina ready to kill you and you would have been murdered!"

Just then, a piece of paper fell between them and Jasmine picked it up to read it. "'Actually, Protector, I would not have killed her instantly, I may have let her put up a fight or a chase, merely because a cat loves to play with the mouse. But I am glad you care enough about your Uniter to watch her. I think we will meet each other very soon. Hope you two are ready for a nice game of cat and mouse.'"

Jasmine went pale and looked up and around to see if she could catch sight of whoever had dropped the note down to them. With no luck, Jasmine quickly grabbed Chloe's hand and guided them swiftly back to her apartment, not stopping until they were in the elevator. Jasmine pulled Chloe close and hugged her, giving a heavy sigh of relief.

"You're safe." She murmured. "I'm sorry I got angry at you, but I was worried. But now you're safe from her. At least for right now."

Chloe looked up at the fearful look in the brunette's eyes and cocked her head in confusion.

"You're really worried about me?" Jasmine nodded. "But I'm nothing but the Uniter. Why me?"

"Because, Chloe, you're not just the Uniter to me. You're my best and only friend. I don't know if Amy and Paul like me, but you're the first friend I've had in years. Alek was more of a brother than a friend and now he's gone. I can't lose you. Please tell me if you're leaving?"

The small speech dazed Chloe and she nodded silently. Jasmine smiled as the elevator doors opened. The smile disappeared when both girls saw a cloaked figure at the end of the hall watching them. Both girls jumped into action at the same time, running at the figure to try and catch it. The figure waited until they were almost upon it before sidestepping both. The girls went slamming into the wall and slid down in a dazed heap.

"Hmm," Chloe heard a high, purring voice say. "Perhaps I misjudged you both. You're fast, but your reflexes might not be as good as I thought."

At this, Chloe jumped up and aimed a kick at the cloaked woman. The woman moved back and dodged the next kick before catching the fist aimed at her masked head.

The figure cocked its head as Chloe struggled to free her hand. "Interesting displays of strength."

The figure jumped away, still holding onto Chloe, as Jasmine tried to kick her legs out. "Nice fighting moves." The figure nodded to Jasmine appreciatively.

The tan girl ran at the woman and aimed a kick at her stomach. The figure let go of Chloe and blocked Jasmine's foot away before flipping all the way down the hall and landing in front of the elevator. Punching the button, the figure turned just in time to flip Jasmine over her back and deflect Chloe's kick, causing the blonde to stumble.

Jasmine had been slammed into the elevator and put into shock at the blow. The elevator opened and the cloaked person stepped inside. Jasmine jumped up as the doors were closing and tried to open them back, but to no avail. Jasmine turned to Chloe to see the blonde nursing a sprained ankle.

Jasmine's eyes softened and she picked the other girl up, carrying her to their apartment. Entering quickly, Jasmine set Chloe on the couch and gathered the supplies so she could patch up the ankle. Chloe held the sore body part so that Jasmine could wrap it. Slowly putting a bit of weight on it, Chloe grimaced, but found that it was good without crutches.

"Would you like some breakfast?" Jasmine asked her.

Chloe nodded and Jasmine began fixing a small breakfast for the two of them.

* * *

**There you go. Felina's attack! She was doing it to analyze their battle skills. She's a kind of twisted assassin, but you haven't seen much yet. Just wait. Review and tell em about the fight. I might add or subtract from it depending on how you guys like it.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Here's chapter nine, y'all. I'm getting these in faster than I did for 'A New FRIEND' and 'Make It Shine'. I'm really excited about this story. i love the Nine Lives of Chloe King. Too bad there's not gonna be a second season. But enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

**Chapter nine**

A few moments later, Valentina walked out, took a look at Chloe's ankle and demanded to know what had happened. Jasmine glanced at her mother and sighed, getting ready to be told, 'you have disappointed me yet again' or something like that.

"We had a run-in with Felina, or who we think was Felina." Jasmine replied, turning back to breakfast.

"And did you kill her?"

"No." Jasmine replied.

"And why not?" Valentina's voice radiated with fury.

"Because I was looking after Chloe as well. She decided to join the fight and help me."

"She did what?" Valentina exclaimed.

"Felina made Chloe sprain her ankle, so I gave up on killing her, picked up Chloe and ran."

Valentina turned to Chloe angrily. "It was stupid of you to attempt to fight a trained assassin after YOUR life."

"I wasn't going to let her kill Jasmine!" Chloe replied heatedly, standing and crossing her arms.

"Jasmine would have died keeping you alive!"

"And that's supposed to make me feel better?"

"It should. You are a fool to try and fight someone that has years of experience over you. It was a very stupid thought to think!"

Chloe opened her mouth to say something, but Jasmine beat her to it. "Don't speak to her that way!" the brunette growled at her mother. Valentina rounded on her. "She was not stupid. It may have been something you or the other protectors wouldn't have thought of doing and I certainly wouldn't have thought of doing it, but Chloe doesn't want someone else's death on her conscience and I respect that more than anything else about her. What she did was brave for someone of her status, to take on someone who was trying to kill her. Not many do that and I'm glad she did. I'm not proud of the fact that she got hurt helping me, but I'm proud that she had enough heart and courage to stand up to such an over-experienced enemy. You will NOT speak to her like what she did was wrong because it wasn't."

Valentina stared at Jasmine in pure shock, as did Chloe. Neither had seen the brunette like this and were kind of afraid of the heated look in her eyes. Jasmine turned back to making breakfast as though nothing had happened and Chloe sat back down on the couch, dazed once more.

Valentina surveyed her daughter and saw the signs that were oh so obviously there. Jasmine's stiff posture at her mother insulting Chloe, her darting eyes, as though danger were right beside her, and the jerk of her movements as though waiting for an attack at any moment. And then when she turned to give Chloe her food, the softening of her eyes and the gentle fluidness of how she gave the other girl the plate.

Valentina nodded to herself and asked, "Would you like some help with breakfast?"

Jasmine shook her head and Valentina nodded. "What did Felina look like?"

"She was completely disguised." Jasmine replied. "She had on tight leather pants, leather gloves, a tight white shirt with a dark cloak on, she was wearing a ski mask and one of those detective hats from the old black and white murder mysteries. From what I could see, her eyes looked just like Chloe's when Chloe goes cat. Other than that, nothing."

"Oh and the high purring voice." Chloe added.

Jasmine nodded to her in thanks and sat down with both her food and her mother's. Handing Valentina her plate, Jasmine began eating slowly to make sure her food wasn't poisoned. There was no limit to what Felina could do and Jasmine was determined to be cautious.

"Did she attack you any other times?" Valentina inquired, chewing a pancake thoughtfully.

"She attacked Chloe and me last night." Jasmine told her, munching a sausage. "She planted a poisonous gas bomb in my room next to my window and then used a laser gun to write her name in my door."

"You left your window unlocked?" Valentina asked.

"No, Chloe watched me lock it last night. She opened a locked window, Mom. And then used a laser to write her name in my door. It kind of scared me because that same laser could have killed Chloe so I moved us to the living room, since there are less windows and only one way in and out."

Valentina nodded, impressed with her daughter's work. Then she looked at Chloe to see the young blonde staring out the window with wide eyes. Both brunette's turned and saw a figure balanced perfectly on the windowsill, holding a gun. Jasmine was out of her chair and to Chloe faster than Valentina could blink and quickly pulled the blonde out of firing range. Not a moment too soon either, because a bullet penetrated Chloe's chair just after Jasmine got her to a wall.

Valentina watched as the figure looked at her and then did a backflip off the windowsill. Running to the sill, the leader of the Pride saw the masked figure land on its feet and then take off running across the street. She turned back to Chloe and Jasmine to find that Jasmine had been hit with one of the bullets. She was kneeling beside Chloe with her hand covering a wound in her leg. The bullet hadn't actually hit her but it had grazed a very deep slash in her leg.

Jasmine snarled as she stood and used Chloe for support. "Come on, Chloe. We need to go patch up my leg."

"Wait," Valentina said. "I'll watch Chloe. You go take care of your leg."

Jasmine looked at her mother and Valentina nodded. Jasmine nodded in return and hurried to the bathroom. She was back within a record of four minutes and tenderly took Chloe's hand.

"Do you still have your clothes?" Chloe nodded pointing to where she'd left her overnight bag on the couch when Jasmine had brought her in. Jasmine nodded. "Good. Go ahead and go change, I'll be waiting. If you aren't back out in five minutes I'm coming in."

Chloe nodded again and grabbed her bag. Hobbling to the bathroom, Chloe let her foot rest by putting on her shirt first. When that was finished, she found that her ankle was nearly completely healed, so she decided to put on her jeans. Looking in the mirror, Chloe nodded and made her way toward the door.

Just as she reached it, she heard running footsteps and stepped away in time to avoid getting slammed into another wall. Jasmine landed in a fighting crouch and stared around the room warily, finally finding Chloe by the door. Jasmine nodded and held out her hand. Chloe took it and followed her out to the living room. Valentina was sitting on the couch reading a mystery novel when they arrived and stood as she spotted them.

"I'm heading out to buy more groceries. Do you think you'll be fine staying here on your own for a bit?"

Jasmine nodded and Valentina grabbed her jacket to head out. As Valentine left out the door, Jasmine turned to Chloe.

"Wanna… do what ever girls do when they're cooped up in the house?" the tan girl asked shyly.

Chloe smiled at her and nodded.

* * *

**Review me and tell me what you think guys! :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Tada! Chapter ten, ready for you guys to indulge in reading her. Try it out, I think you'll like what you find.**

* * *

**Chapter ten**

Felina looked across the street at the apartment and sighed. "Such formidable opponents and only two days of being hunted. That is a new record. I envy them, having to live life with actual danger and not just thinking about causing it."

The murderer turned away from the window and brewed some tea for herself, wondering how she was going to be able to kill the Uniter, keep her job and keep the protector alive. She didn't really want to kill her cousin, but a job's a job. She didn't really need the job, but it provided a nice place to sleep and three free meals. The protector however, would make a good friend, she was sure of it. And the girl seemed smitten with the Uniter, so Felina knew that if she were to kill the Uniter, the protector would go as well.

The hit woman growled through her fangs and sighed, wondering what had made Whitley so confident about firing her. Her sister was in Brazil, helping the amazons kill hunters, her brother was home in Spain helping father with the family fish-selling business and neither were Mai for some reason, so they couldn't possibly be assassins.

_Perhaps he has hired a new assassin that he thought was worthy enough to beat me_. Felina thought, looking around at all of her weapons hanging on the wall. _I doubt there is a Mai out there that can beat me and Jackals are too unpredictable. If he hired a Giller then that was a waste of money because those fish-demigods never last long without water and the Slitherers can't be tamed because of their snake-like nature._ If he hired a new assassin, it must have been some kind of cyborg type, but Felina knew she could take down one of those too.

_Ok, new assassin has been wiped off the list completely. What else? Maybe he has found a poison that can actually kill Mai._ Felina snorted at this. There hasn't been a poison to date that can kill a Mai, especially not one like her.

_Crossing new poison off the list. Anything else? No, but then why was Whitley so confident?_ Then Felina's eyes widened.

"He knew I would kill them by the end of next week anyway!" she snarled.

The end of next week was Felina's killing time. It was the week before Halloween. Whitley and Simone always let her out the week before so that they could stir up some mystery for the local police about mysterious deaths. The SFPD were probably waiting for the first of the deaths anyway. Felina growled low in her throat at being tricked into taking an assassination gig just before her special week to do as she pleased. And with such interesting prey! The predator stood and slowly began pacing.

"How do I make it so that I get my special week and keep the Uniter and her Protector alive until the end of it?"

Felina knew it would be close to impossible. The weeks before, after and of Halloween she was at her most dangerous, her most predatory. It was like a werewolf and the full moon.

Actually, now that Felina realized it, why hadn't the Uniter been given a specific date? From the spying the Order has been doing on her and Whitley's son Brian, the Uniter didn't have a specific date in which she became so powerful and predatory she had to be kept inside. Or at least not yet. Felina thought for a moment and decided to see if the Uniter's predator week would come before hers, but she hadn't seen anything so far this week.

_Perhaps it will be next week, like mine. We are basically exactly alike aside from a few differences, but I will have to wait and see. For now, I must get back to the matter on how to keep them both alive until the end of next week_.

Felina paced some more and finally came up with a good idea. Smiling to herself, the assassin smiled to herself as she headed for her bedroom for some sleep. "Wonderful ideas always did come before I fell asleep." She murmured as she curled up on her bed for a nap.

* * *

Chloe giggled as she watched Jasmine try to put on make-up.

"Maybe I should help you before you disfigure your face." Chloe suggested, coming to stand behind the other girl.

Jasmine turned and instantly noticed her proximity to the blonde, wanting to move away, but being cornered against the counter. Chloe's hands slowly came up and began working at Jasmine's make-up.

Jasmine leaned slightly into her touch though she tried not to. As Chloe's hands continued moving on her face, Jasmine slowly leaned forward and kissed Chloe softly. Chloe pulled back after a few seconds and stared at Jasmine. Jasmine's eyes flew open as she gasped.

"Chloe, I… I…" Jasmine seemed unable to call the words she needed, watching fearfully for Chloe's reaction.

"Jasmine, I can't." Chloe said. "Not so soon after Alek died. I still love him. I'm sorry."

Jasmine nodded with tears stinging at her eyes. She was determined not to let them show, but she had to turn her head very quickly as they came cascading down her cheeks.

"I should probably go wash this off my face." Jasmine murmured, turning and walking to the bathroom.

Chloe watched her go sadly, wishing she could figure out something to say to the other girl that would make her feel better. But honestly, what could she say? She had loved Alek and she couldn't take another love so soon after both his and Brian's death.

_And what would Valentina say to her daughter dating a girl rather than a respectable guy. She'd flip out on both of us!_ As Chloe thought about this, it came to her attention that Valentina still hadn't returned from getting the groceries.

Just as she thought this, Valentina opened the door and flung the groceries inside while battling someone on the other side of the door. Chloe stood as if to help, but there was no need. Valentina kicked the person away from the door and quickly shut it, locking the deadbolts in quick succession.

Turning to Chloe, the brunette woman asked, "Are you alright?" Chloe nodded.

"Did Felina attack again?" Valentina asked as she bent to put the food away. Chloe shook her head and walked over to help.

"Where's Jasmine?"

"Bathroom." Chloe replied, not wanting to mention what she was doing in there.

"You convinced her not to take you in there with her?" Valentina asked.

"Took awhile." Chloe shrugged, putting the eggs into the fridge. Valentina nodded as Jasmine appeared a moment later.

"Hey Mom," Jasmine said, stooping to held put everything away. "Get back ok? I heard the deadbolts locking."

"I was attacked while coming from the supermarket." Valentina replied.

"Another rookie?" Jasmine asked in a bored tone.

"Yes."

Chloe stared at them, wondering how they can talk so calmly about this. "You were attacked?" she asked.

Valentina shrugged. "Not anything new. Just another of the Order's rookie assassins trying to make a name for themselves."

Chloe cocked her head. "How can you be so calm about that?" she asked in confusion.

"It happens all the time." Valentina told her. "If I had a heart attack every time I was attacked, I would be dead by now."

Chloe nodded and glanced at Jasmine. The other girl carefully avoided looking at Chloe, keeping an eye on her without actually looking at her. Chloe felt a pang in her chest at knowing she had made Jasmine so sad.

Suddenly, a crash resounded through the room and all three turned to see five other Mai climbing through a broken window. Valentina and Jasmine jumped at them immediately, holding them away from Chloe.

But as Chloe ran to Jasmine's room, she gasped to see the cloaked figure standing behind the door waiting for her. "Well, it's nice to see you too."

With that the figure jumped forward and landed a hard blow on Chloe's cheek. The blonde stumbled and fought back. The two seemed evenly matched for awhile until the figure tripped Chloe and sent her crashing to the ground. Chloe was weak from all of the fighting and struggled to get to her feet as the figure walked over to her. With simple punch to the blonde's chest, the figure sent Chloe spiraling into darkness.

* * *

**_Duhduhduhhhhhh! Chloe has been beaten. Let us find out what happens to the poor Uniter. Reviews are always welcome flame criticism or otherwise._**


	11. Chapter 11

**Ok, guys, here's chapter eleven. I got a lot written over the past two days, so here's the next few chapters. starting with eleven.**

* * *

**Chapter eleven**

Jasmine and Valentina finished off the last of the rookies and turned to find Chloe gone. They looked at each other in panic and raced for Jasmine's room, only to find the door locked. In a state of outright horror, Jasmine kicked the door in and rushed into the room.

"No!" she screamed, seeing the open window. "Chloe!"

Valentina followed her in and looked around warily. "No name, so she hasn't killed Chloe."

"But she's an assassin!" Jasmine cried. "She's _going_ to kill her!"

"Jasmine you must calm down."

Jasmine tried to slow her breathing but thinking about Chloe in the hands of that masked killer was making it so hard. Jasmine's breathing sped up and she curled her fists as if strangling something. Taking a deep breath and forcing her breathing to slow, Jasmine looked up at her mother with pleading eyes.

"What do we do, Mom?" she asked. "She's gone and this killer is untraceable."

A note flew threw the window at that moment and Jasmine looked at it fearfully. Valentina picked it up and opened it, reading aloud. "'Not untraceable, Protector. I just merely cover my tracks enough to throw you off. Simply meet me at the old Jackal tunnels tomorrow night at sunset and you'll be reunited with your precious Uniter. Come alone or with your mother, but bring no one else or she will die on the spot. See you tomorrow."

Valentina looked up at Jasmine. "You and Chloe are dating?" she asked.

"No, why?" Jasmine asked in confusion.

"She called you Chloe's Protector. A Protector is usually a Mai that stays close to its loved one and ends up being mates with them. She seems to think that you and Chloe have affections for each other."

Jasmine shook her head. "It's just one-sided. She's too hung up on Alek to think of me that way."

Valentina nodded. "Do you want me to come with you to the warehouse?" she asked almost gently.

Jasmine shook her head. "I'll go on my own. Chloe was under my protection and I'll be damned if she dies."

Valentina nodded again and left her daughter to think in her room. Jasmine sighed as she thought of Chloe alone with that horrible woman, probably scared out of half her wits. _I'm coming for you Chloe._ The tan girl thought determinedly. _I'll get you back._

* * *

Chloe slowly opened her eyes and looked around. Everything was too dark to see with human eyes. Slowly getting her bearings, Chloe opened her cat eyes and looked around. It looked like she was in a kind of bedroom except without windows. Slowly sitting up, the blonde stared around and found that she was on a bed and there was another bed beside hers a few feet away. Standing, Chloe approached the door and raised her hand to the doorknob.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." A voice called from a chair across the room. Chloe turned to see the cloaked woman sitting there. "It's hotwired to set off an alarm if you turn it. It won't do that for me because it knows my touch. You however it doesn't know and will instantly shock you if you touch it."

Chloe cocked her head. "What do you want with me?" she asked softly.

"To study you. You are very interesting to me because I've never seen or met a target like you and your Protector."

"So you aren't with the Order?" Chloe asked, confused.

"Oh, I am, but I work on my own schedule rather than Whitley's."

"Whitley?" Chloe inquired.

"He told me you killed his son."

Chloe thought a moment and her eyes widened. "Brian's DAD is the head of the organization trying to kill me?" she asked, horrified.

"Yes."

"But… but I didn't kill him on purpose. It was an accident! He kissed me as I was coming back to life." The figure stood at this.

"You have nine lives?" she asked curiously, slowly coming closer.

"Y-yeah," Chloe replied nervously. "Seven now because the Order's killed me twice. W-why do you want to know?"

"Because, I-."

Just then, Alarms sounded and the figure nodded to itself. I have to go." She told Chloe. "Please, stay here and we will continue this conversation. For now, I must go meet someone extremely important."

She moved Chloe away from the door and opened it. From what Chloe could see, they were at the end of a long corridor of rooms. The door swiftly shut behind the cloaked figure and Chloe sat on the bed to await her return.

* * *

Jasmine stepped up to the entrance of the underground passages and waited as a cloaked figure stepped out as well.

"Where is Chloe?" Jasmine demanded.

"You'll see her soon. For now, I need to talk to you."

Jasmine's jaw clenched but she nodded, keeping herself carefully in check.

"Do you love the Uniter?"

Jasmine cocked her head at such an odd question to ask, but nodded all the same.

"Does she return your feelings?"

Jasmine shook her head.

"Did you tell her about your own feelings?"

Jasmine nodded.

"Would you die for her?"

Jasmine nodded slowly, thinking that was what the figure had waited for.

"What is her name?"

Jasmine sighed. "Chloe." She replied. "Chloe King."

"And yours?"

"Jasmine Valentina Garcia Ramirez."

The figure cocked her head to the side. "Valentina's daughter, of course. I should have known with how loyal you are to your Uniter. Now tell me, why is she a Uniter? Has she united anything between the different Mai prides or the Mai and the humans?"

Jasmine shook her head. "Chloe's not ready, she's only sixteen."

"But you've been doing much more than her at sixteen."

"Yes, but I haven't died twice lost, both my loves in one night, and then found out one of my boyfriend's cousins is also in love with me. Not to mention that she has all of the stress of becoming a symbol of hope for all Mai everywhere. That's a lot to put on one person."

The figure nodded. "And you are helping her get comfortable with the role of being the Uniter?"

"Trying as hard as I can, yes."

The figure took a step closer. "You are a very good Protector. You should be honored. Perhaps, when the Uniter traveled, you could have accompanied her on the missions and conferences."

"Traveled?" Jasmine asked curiously.

"She is the Uniter, surely she has to meet the many Mai prides in order to bring peace among them."

Jasmine nodded slowly. "I never thought about it that way. My mother only spoke of Chloe in San Francisco."

"Surely Valentina knew that she had to get Chloe to travel to the other prides?"

Jasmine shrugged. "She might have. She never really mentioned the other Mai prides until the Brazilian twins and the Jackals attacked Chloe."

"Yes, about these Brazilian twins. Who were they?"

"Lilli and her sister, Nikki. They came to see if the Uniter really did have nine lives and then report back to their leader with Chloe. They attacked her and it was only because of Chloe's quick thinking and natural fighting skills that she managed to run them off. Sadly, not before one was killed."

The figure cocked her head. "And what is the business with the Jackals?"

"Chloe met a Jackal named Kai and took a bit of pity on him. She bathed and clothed him and let him stay in her home for a night. It is because of that that they didn't kill my cousin Alek, Chloe's boyfriend."

"He was her boyfriend?"

"Yes, but my boyfriend, Zane, who was hired by the Order, killed him."

The figure took another step forward and Jasmine was instinctively preparing for an attack. Instead, the figure merely stared at her. "You are scared for your Chloe." The figure said at last. "And angry at me for stealing her. You were not lying when you said you would die for her. You are very honorable indeed. Come, Chloe is waiting for you."

Jasmine stayed in her fighting crouch as she slowly followed the figure into the tunnels, expecting an ambush. But none came as the masked killer led her down until they reached a room at the end of a long corridor filled with doors. Slowly opening the door, the killer let Jasmine go first and then followed after her.

"Chloe?" Jasmine called uncertainly.

"Jasmine! Don't let her close the door!"

Jasmine turned in the blink of an eye, but it was too late. The door shut and they were trapped in the room with Felina.

* * *

**_The whole Felina asking about Jasmine and her relationship to Chloe is just because she wants to know more about the two of them. You'll understand why later on... I hope. If not, inbox me and I'll explain it._**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter twelve**

Valentina watched as her daughter was led inside and sighed. "She will not come out alive." The tan woman murmured. "I must dig Alek's grave and then Zane's grave and put up a marker for Jasmine as well."

Turning, she jumped from the roof of the building she had been standing on and headed back to her apartment where she had kept both bodies in the deep freezer. Pulling both out, she put them into body bags and slowly carried them to the local cemetery. Digging two graves with the gravedigger's shovel, Valentina thought of her daughter and how she was risking her life for the Uniter.

_She was very brave._ Valentina thought. _She didn't let down her defenses for a moment, even while she was answering the questions. She truly was a great fighter, very skilled and intelligent. I never even got to tell her that she had been dating Alek's brother._ Valentina wiped at her eyes, not because of tears, but because of the stinging in her eyes. She had given up crying long ago, but it never kept the sting at bay. _The hope of the Mai is now going to die and the Order will pick us off one by one. And I am alone._

Slowly dropping the two bodies into the grave side-by-side, Valentina began covering them again, taking care to cover the entire bag with the soil. As Valentina used a laser to inscribe in the rocks that Alek and his brother lay there, she looked around for a rock for Jasmine as well. She found a nice-sized one and slowly dragged it over to sit next to that of the two Petrov brothers. She slowly raised her laser, but her hand was shaking so hard she had to take a deep breath. Valentina held her hand up to try again, but she couldn't bring herself to write her own daughter's gravestone.

_Jasmine's too strong._ She thought. _She can't die. Her willpower is too strong; she has to come out alive with or without the Uniter. I'll just wait. She WILL come out alive._ With that thought, Valentina left the rock, set her jaw and awaited her daughter's return; whether it took weeks or months, she would wait.

* * *

Jasmine stood protectively in front of Chloe and growled at the menace before her. "What do you want with us?" she demanded.

"Like I told your Uniter, Chloe, I merely wish to survey you for a bit. In due time, I may be able to show you what I look like."

Jasmine tensed at this, knowing that once the two of them saw the killer under the mask, they were automatically dead.

"Relax Jasmine. I like to play with my food before I eat it."

Jasmine began shaking and Chloe put a hand on her arm. Jasmine turned to her and Chloe saw the suppressed anger in the girl's eyes.

"Chloe, what other plan do we have?" she whispered.

"Please, we could get killed."

"We'll get killed no matter what we do." Jasmine replied, her voice strained as she thought of Chloe being killed over and over again.

Before Chloe could say anything else, Jasmine turned and launched herself at the cloaked figure by the door. The figure blocked her attacks with malicious grace and sent Jasmine flying across the room with one punch. Chloe jumped in as Jasmine stood again. The figure continued blocking the attacks of the two young women and gave them both hard blows to the head. Jasmine backed away slightly, holding her head in both hands as Chloe fell to her knees, gritting her teeth against the pain.

They both looked at the figure leaning against the doorjamb and smiling at them. Or at least, they thought she was smiling. It was kind of hard to tell with that mask and hat on. As though both girls had the same thought, Chloe charged and swiped the hat as Jasmine snuck in and snatched the ski mask as well. The figure screamed out in fury as she turned away from them.

"Don't look at me!" she shrieked, hurrying for the door.

Jasmine jumped her and attempted to turn her to face them, but the figure threw her off and held a hand over her mouth and nose. All Jasmine could see were a pair of greenish yellow eyes glaring at her fiercely. Just as Jasmine felt herself slipping into darkness, the hand was removed and the figure stood. Pulling up her cloak to cover her face, the figure hurried out of the room. Jasmine turned to Chloe to find the other girl holding a chair above her head as though she were going to hit something with it.

"Did you see her?" Jasmine asked.

Chloe shook her head. "Even with my cat eyes it was too dark."

"One thing's for sure," Jasmine said as Chloe helped her to her feet. "She's really afraid of us seeing her face before she wants us to."

Chloe nodded and the two curled up on the separate beds to think.

* * *

Felina panted as she let her cloak fall. She turned and looked at the closed door.

"They almost saw. They can't see me. Not until they prove themselves trustworthy."

Felina slowly walked back to her own room and slid to the floor. "None of this would have happened to me if I didn't have this face. If I looked almost normal I wouldn't have become an assassin. I would have put my skills to better use, but because of my face I have to kill. No one will hire a bodyguard that is constantly cloaked; they would be afraid of imposters every waking moment."

The assassin stood and made her way over to her stove, quickly brewing some tea to heat up. As she waited for the tea to get ready, Felina looked around her small room and sighed.

"I knew about these tunnels long before the jackals got here. To think those filthy dogs didn't even notice these rooms…" she shook her head. "They could have gotten cleaned up so that they were at least presentable to the public."

Felina sighed and switched on the night vision cameras she had set up in the room holding Chloe and Jasmine.

The two were lying on the beds staring up at the ceiling. Felina nodded and pressed a button on the computer. What looked like smoke was slowly filtered into the room, not thick enough to be caught by the two prisoners but thick enough that it got to them. Within a matter of minutes, both girls were fast asleep and Felina smiled.

"And now, the fun truly begins."

* * *

**So, does anyone want to take a guess at why Felina doesn't want the girls to see her face? Anyone at all? Or even take a crack at what she looks like? Hmm, perhaps a bit more info is desirable. ok, then.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter thirteen**

A twinge in her arms woke Chloe and she slowly opened her eyes. Looking around wearily, she spotted Jasmine tied to a wall with her hands above her head.

"Jasmine?" Chloe called.

"Chloe?" Jasmine slowly opened her eyes.

"We're bound." She whispered. "That is never a good thing."

"What do you mean?" Chloe asked, dread filling her stomach.

"Chloe, we're bound to the ceiling. My mom had to deal with this sort of thing in interrogations. But I don't understand why she's doing this. She already knows a lot about us."

"It's because my weeks of predatory bliss are starting next week."

The cloaked figure stepped into the room and flipped a switch. The room around the two girls flooded with lights and Chloe whimpered in terror. All around there were multiple machinations and tools that screamed torture. There was a saw that could slowly cut a person in half using a conveyor belt and a giant circle with darts, knives, swords and other pointy objects sticking out of it. Not to mention a skeleton hanging from the ceiling upside down.

Jasmine's eyes widened in horror, thinking about Chloe being on any one of these torture devices and screaming for mercy. The figure stepped up to Chloe and stroked her face slowly. Chloe cringed in fear, looking around at all of the different means of pain.

"W-what's a week of predatory bliss?" the blonde asked softly.

"The weeks where a Mai reaches its most powerful and predatory point in a year." Jasmine replied in a choked voice. "They become so dangerous, in fact, that they have to stay inside or they may end up killing innocent people by accident."

The figure nodded, still stroking Chloe's cheek. "And I'm going to have fun with you two this week. And the next. And the next."

Chloe cried out in pain as she felt a sharp stab in her cheek. As the stab drew lower, she realized the figure was actually scratching a trail down the side of her face. When the figure pulled her claws away, Chloe felt blood drip down her cheek and off her chin. A few tears escaped and the figure wiped them away gently.

"Don't cry, Uniter," the figure told her gently. Then her voice grew harsh and she laughed. "At least not yet."

Jasmine growled at the figure and the cloaked person turned to her. "Aw, is the Protector angry with itty little Felina?"

Felina strode over to Jasmine. The killer held up a finger and Jasmine bit down on it as hard as she could. To her surprise, the killer simply stared at her and Jasmine felt that something was wrong. Just as this thought crossed her mind, a sharp pain sliced its way from the back of her tongue to the tip and Jasmine screamed. Blood spilled from her mouth as the figure pulled its claw away.

"Never bite the hand that might kill you, Jasmine." The figure taunted, waving its claws playfully. "If you two survive until the end of the week, then you will be rewarded. If not, then obviously, you will be dead."

The figure laughed as it strode away, leaving the girls to bleed. Chloe looked over at Jasmine with more tears brimming her eyes.

"Jasmine, I'm so sorry." Chloe cried. "This is all my fault."

Jasmine wanted to say something to comfort the poor girl, but she was incapable of saying anything. All she could do was stare at Chloe with her tongue hanging out to let the blood drip to the floor rather than down her throat.

"Chloe?" Jasmine finally said, though her speech was morphed slightly because the uselessness of her tongue. Chloe looked up at her. "This isn't your fault, kay?"

Chloe somehow managed to understand her and nodded slowly. "But your tongue…"

"That was my choice to bite her, not yours. I let my anger get the better of me and I paid for it. This isn't your fault."

Chloe sniffed. "Jasmine, you might bleed to death."

Jasmine shook her head and showed Chloe her tongue. The red-stained appendage was nearly healed to the point of being merely an ugly scar. Chloe cringed and yelped at a sudden pain in her cheek. Jasmine's eyes softened and she looked up to the ceiling. There was a wire on which they were bound. Jasmine slowly walked along the wire and came to stand next to Chloe.

"How badly does it hurt?" she asked softly.

"N-not much." Chloe replied breathily.

Jasmine nodded and licked her tongue along the cut. Chloe felt warmth spread on the scratch and knew that Jasmine had healed it for her.

"Thank you." The blonde replied.

The brunette shrugged in reply and turned to the door.

"We're stuck for now, Chloe." She said. "But I'll get us out of here. I promise."

* * *

Felina looked at the camera and watched as Jasmine licked Chloe's cut away. She smiled, but pushed the manic thoughts from her head.

"I can't keep this off much longer." The assassin murmured, feeling the need to kill itching through her body. "But I **will** keep them alive. I will not give Whitley the satisfaction of controlling me any longer. He is my boss, but not my master. I will have my way and these girls are too fascinating to kill automatically."

Looking at the cameras again, Felina saw Chloe struggling against the rope on her hands and felt the need wash over her again. Biting down on her own gloved hand, the killer slowly made the itch go away.

"Whitley had better let me out soon." Felina growled. "Or I may end up breaking out."

She glanced at the cameras once more and saw a few tears running down Chloe's cheeks, but watched in fascination as the girl wiped them away gently and turned to Jasmine, whose tongue was still healing itself.

Looking down at her claws, Felina felt a small bit of guilty pleasure at having caused such a strong person intense pain. Sighing, Felina paced for a moment before leaving the room and heading back to the room holding her captives.

* * *

**Well, at least we still know she's a Mai. Review and tell me what you think so far, kay?**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter fourteen**

Chloe's arms were starting to ache when Felina walked back in. 'Are you hurting Chloe?" she asked gently.

The blonde glared at her. "Well, let me see, the pain from my cheek is still fresh in my mind, my arms are cramping and I have an itch on my stomach I can't scratch. You tell me if I'm hurting."

Felina cocked her head to the side. "You are very brave, you know that, Chloe?"

Chloe shrugged. "So I've been told."

"But you don't believe it."

Chloe looked up. "Well, no. Not really." She glanced at Jasmine, who was still standing beside her. Jasmine's eyes were wide with worry, but she nodded all the same.

"Well, Chloe, I can help you with the cramping and the itch. Your cheek, though, I believe has been taken care of by your Protector." Walking over to a control panel on the wall, Felina pushed some buttons and the wire loosened enough to give the girls stretching room.

"Are you hungry?" Felina asked. The girls nodded slowly and Felina nodded, turning and walking out the door.

"Don't eat your food when she gives it to you." Jasmine said. "Let me taste it first to see if it's poisoned." Chloe reluctantly nodded.

"Why is she being so nice all of a sudden?" the blonde asked.

"Probably to lead us into a false sense of security." Jasmine replied, slowly sitting on the conveyor belt of the saw. Chloe shrugged and sat down on a balance of strings.

"Chloe watch out!"

The younger girl quickly jumped up as several blades came down right where she was sitting. Chloe backed away from the strings and began shaking slightly at being so close to death again.

"Come sit next to me." Jasmine told her gently, trying to calm the shivering blonde down. Chloe slowly approached the brunette and sat down close to her.

"I'm scared." Chloe sighed, a slight waver to her voice.

"I know," Jasmine told her. "I am too, Chloe, but we have to stay strong. You have to return to your mom and I have to return to mine."

Chloe nodded. "I hope my mom's ok."

Jasmine nodded. "Same here."

Just then, the door opened and both girls stood, folding their arms across their chests. Felina slowly approached them with a tray and set it down beside them.

"It's not poisoned; I never poison the people I intend to kill. There's no fun in it, they look exactly the same as if they were sleeping." The killer shook her head in disgust.

"Anyway, you should probably eat soon because Whitley will be here soon and he wants to see you two looking dead. I have to make it seem as though you're almost dead so that he can leave me alone for awhile. Hopefully, I can keep him at bay for three weeks."

Chloe looked up at her in confusion. "Why are you being so nice to us?" she asked curiously as Jasmine tasted their food carefully. Something flickered in the assassin's eyes and she sat on the floor a few feet from them.

"I know what it's like to be trapped like the domestic animal we take after. I wouldn't wish my life on anyone else yet here I am, forced to keep you two prisoners until I can break away from my 'master'" she spat the word master as though it were a dreadful disease. "And, even if it were not for that, you two are too interesting to kill right away. I'd like to get to know you better before and if I kill you."

"What do you mean 'if'?" Jasmine demanded while Chloe looked at Felina with a small hint of hope in her eyes.

"You two have me thinking twice about who I am and what I'm doing with Whitley. I don't know yet if I will or won't kill you, but I do know that I won't do it until I've learned more about you."

Jasmine cocked her head with slightly softer eyes and urged Chloe to eat. Chloe nodded, but didn't move. She continued to stare at Felina for another long moment until she finally sighed.

"There's something familiar about you." She said softly. "I can't figure out what, but you seem familiar."

Felina chuckled. "In a way, you do know me. But that will have to wait until a later time. For now, eat so that I can help you get prepared to look half-dead."

Chloe gulped at the manic gleam in the other woman's eyes. She backed against Jasmine and turned to begin eating. Felina walked to the other side of the room, near the control panel and watched them, looking around at all the different torture devices before looking back at them. When the two were done eating, Felina walked over and took the tray away, closing the door with a loud thump. Chloe turned to Jasmine and the brunette could clearly see the terror etched on her face.

"She's going to torture us!" Chloe croaked, fear filling in her eyes.

* * *

**Uh-oh. Sorry it's so short, but review and tell me what you think.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter fifteen**

Felina took a deep breath before entering the room once more, the heavy kangaroo whip in her hands not feeling quite right. She saw Chloe huddled against Jasmine and met the blonde's eyes slowly. Chloe's own eyes widened and she began shaking slightly. Felina looked at her, down at the whip and shook her head. She looked at Jasmine and the tan girl nodded her head.

Slowly walking forward, she turned and ripped her shirt away, baring it for Felina. The assassin raised the whip and cracked it in the air for a moment before bringing it down on Jasmine's back. A scream rose in the other girl's throat, but she fought it down as Felina continued whipping her. After fifty lashes, Felina examined her work and nodded.

"That should hold until he gets here." She said quietly to herself.

Walking over to the instruments hanging on the wall, she grabbed a double-edged sword and examined it. Shaking her head, she took the bow staff and brought it down multiple times on Jasmine's back. She could almost see the pained looks on the girl's face and felt a tiny twinge of regret.

Leaving massive bruises, Felina nodded and motioned for Chloe to come forward. The blonde girl looked up at her with frightened eyes, but set her jaw and walked forward with steady, careful steps. Felina took her over to the large board with the darts and positioned her in front of the shooter. Chloe gulped nervously at seeing that the shooter was positioned right at her chest.

Felina chuckled. "I'm not shooting you with that, Chloe." She said.

"That doesn't make me feel any better." Chloe said hoarsely.

"I know." Felina said calmly. "It wasn't supposed to."

She grabbed the bow and some arrows from the wall and turned back to Chloe. Blue eyes widened in fear as the first arrow flew. It hit her in the upper arm and Chloe bit back a scream. Another arrow succeeded in summoning a small peep, but as the arrows continued flying, the louder Chloe's sounds got. At last, she was screaming at the multitude of arrows sticking from different parts of her body. Felina shot one last arrow and Chloe whimpered as it struck her in the side.

Felina put the bow away and strode slowly over to the bleeding Uniter. Jasmine ran at her, growling, but Felina punched her in the jaw and made the tan girl stagger. Nevertheless, Jasmine continued coming until she was covered in even more bruises and her feet couldn't hold her up. Jasmine staggered back as Felina advanced on the frightened Chloe.

Holding onto one of the arrows, she pulled it out with exaggerated slowness and causing more screams of pain to rise within Chloe. She did this with each of the arrows that had been embedded in Chloe. When she reached the last arrow, which was embedded deep in Chloe's side, Felina pulled it out some of the way, then forced it back in and pulled it out again. Chloe's pupils were dilating fast and so Felina continued to force the arrow in and out until the blonde finally passed out. Turning to Jasmine, Felina found her passed out as well.

Smiling tightly, Felina walked over to the control panel and tightened the ropes around the girls' wrists until they were a foot off the ground. She examined Jasmine's back and sighed in aggravation at how quickly the girl healed. Taking up the whip again, she began making more lashes on the tanned skin, only stopping when she saw blood dripping from Jasmine's back. Putting the whip on the saw's conveyor belt, Felina exited the room and went to the entrance to await her boss. Whitley showed up only three minutes later with Simone right behind him.

"Where are they?" he demanded.

"Torture room." Felina replied softly, pulling out a knife and twirling it between her fingers. She took them to the room where Jasmine and Chloe were still unconscious and bleeding from their wounds.

Whitley examined them and nodded. "How long do you think their endurance can hold up?" he asked.

Felina shrugged. "Two, three weeks, but probably no longer."

Whitley cocked his head at her. "I want all seven of the Uniter's lives finished and done with." He growled. "And just to make it a bit easier for you…" he pulled out a knife and stabbed Chloe in the chest with it, repeatedly. Felina's eye twitched when she saw Chloe stopped breathing and Whitley withdrew the knife. "…she only has six lives left."

Felina nodded and escorted them out before hurrying back to the room. She looked Chloe over and found that the girl still wasn't breathing.

"Come on, Chloe," she murmured. "You have to come back to life."

Chloe responded by opening her eyes suddenly and lashing out at Felina. "You killed me!" the blonde hissed as the assassin deftly dodged her blow.

Felina shook her head. "Whitley killed you." Felina told her.

Chloe snorted. "And where's this Whitley now?" she demanded.

"He and Simone left after he killed you. I swear to you, Chloe, that I did not kill you."

"How can I trust you?" Chloe spat. Felina walked over and stared into the fiery blue eyes glaring at her.

"Please believe me." Felina asked. "I wish to keep you alive for as long as possible."

"You're going to kill me anyway." Chloe muttered.

Felina shook her head. "I've decided not to kill you. After seeing Whitley's blatant disregard of you're seven, now six, lives, I will do all in my power to fight him."

Chloe saw the fire blaze behind the green eyes and shivered slightly. Suddenly, Felina convulsed and dropped to her knees. She stood seconds later with a deranged glint in her eyes.

"It's time." The cat-like killer whispered, turning and grabbing a knife from right near Chloe's throat. Chloe gulped as Felina looked to her, the hints of a smile showing through her ski mask.

* * *

**_Yikes, what's going on? Chloe's scared now. There's chapter fifteen for y'all. Check it out and review!_**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter sixteen**

Felina looked at Chloe for a long moment. _So helpless and weak. How I would love to sink my teeth and claws into that._ The assassin shook her head and turned away from Chloe. She nodded to the girl and headed out the door, through the tunnels and into the night air. Sniffing the air swiftly, she found a good trail that was a bit old, but still good enough to be tracked.

Following the scent, Felina put the knife into her cloak and took to the rooftops. She tracked her victim all through the city and finally caught up to them while they were in an alleyway. The target was a Mexican/Caucasian male with dark brown hair and green eyes. He was kind of scruffy and he worked as a dealer, selling drugs to teenagers who though he was selling medicine.

Felina cornered him as he cornered a young girl. He was bearing down on the girl and getting ready to inject the needle when Felina dropped down behind him.

"Turn away, girl." Felina told the frightened teen in front of her. "If you wish to live, you will avert your eyes and not look at me until I say so."

The girl turned to face the wall and the man grinned, raising the needle. Felina caught his arm and pulled back, breaking it at the shoulder. The man screamed in pain as Felina commenced breaking his other arm too. He tried to get free and run, but she wasn't going to let that happen. Grabbing the man's face, the killer drew a long scratch above his forehead, making blood spill into his eyes. He screamed for help, but no one came and Felina turned to the girl, who was still facing the brick wall.

"Run." She commanded.

The teen didn't think twice and quickly hurried away. Felina turned back to the man and slowly removed her hat and ski mask. Green eyes widened as they feasted on the hideous creature before them. Felina smiled, her fangs glinting out at the frightened victim and she lunged forward for a new attack, the adrenaline of the first attack of the year making her excited and skittish.

When she was finished, there was nothing left, but a mangled pile of flesh and a mound of bloody clothing. Flicking the blood from her claws, Felina wrote her name next to the mutilation and headed back to the tunnels, smiling as she caught a scent for tomorrow.

* * *

Chloe awoke to Jasmine calling her name. Looking around, Chloe found her sitting on the conveyor belt again. It was then that the blonde realized she was no longer hanging a foot off the ground. She walked over to Jasmine and sat down with a sigh.

"I'm sore now." Chloe muttered. "Very sore."

"Me too." Jasmine told her. "Have you seen Felina?"

"Not since I woke up from being dead."

Jasmine's eyes widened and she turned to the other girl. "She killed you?"

"No," Chloe replied, shaking her head. "She said it was Brian's dad, Whitley."

"Why would Brian's dad kill you?"

"He's the leader of the Order. And I have a sneaking suspicion that his son didn't know about it."

Jasmine groaned. "I'm going to have some nasty scars because of this guy."

"My apologies for making you bleed, Jasmine." Felina said as she walked in. "But it was necessary in order to pass you of as being imprisoned."

Jasmine snorted. "So where is this Whitley guy, anyway?"

Felina shrugged. "Probably back at his office with Simone." She untied them both and let them walk around for a bit.

"He will be back in two days to check on my progress. Until then you are free to move about the tunnels. You are not allowed to move out of the tunnels for your own safety."

"In case some members of the Order see us?" Jasmine asked.

Felina nodded. "That and I don't want you to run into the most dangerous thing in San Francisco."

Jasmine raised an eyebrow inquiringly. "And that would be?"

Felina looked at her and said, "Me."

* * *

**So, what do y'all think of the small scene Felina put on. I wonder when Chloe's weeks of predatory bliss will be. *Shrug* keep readng, you'll find out.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter seventeen**

Jasmine paced in the room she and Chloe were sharing. Chloe watched her nervously, wondering what could be going through the brunette's head.

_Heads. Severed heads. Mutilated faces._

Chloe shook her head and put a hand to her forehead. Standing, she staggered over to Jasmine.

"Chloe, what's wrong?"

"I'm just going to head to the nearest window and get some fresh air."

Jasmine nodded, watching her carefully. Chloe staggered around the tunnels, finally falling to her knees and convulsing in pain. Images of mutilated bodies and streaming blood flashed through her head and Chloe stood. She smiled as she felt her eyes constrict and her fangs sharpen. Walking for the exit, Chloe breathed in the fresh air and caught a fresh scent.

Licking her lips, Chloe went into hunting mode and followed the scent, finding a poor homeless woman lying in an alley, trying to get to sleep. Chloe smiled and lashed out at the woman, relishing in her screams of pain. Clawing at the woman's face, Chloe became intrigued by the blood on her claws. Grinning maniacally, Chloe continued shredding and tearing at the woman, feeling freer and wilder than ever before. Continuing her attack, Chloe soon brought her teeth into play and her poor prey didn't stand a chance.

* * *

**God, it makes me sick at how short this chapter is, but I guess it's one of those stepping stone chapters.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter eighteen**

"Where's Chloe?" Felina asked Jasmine as she strode into the room.

Jasmine looked up from the book she had been reading. "She went to go find a window somewhere to breathe from."

"But there aren't any windows in the tunnels." Felina pointed out. "She should have been back by now."

Jasmine frowned. "You don't think she's lost do you?"

Felina shook her head. "She has an amazing sense of direction. I doubt she's lost in the tunnels. But something tells me that we have a lot more than Chloe being lost to worry about right now."

Jasmine raised an eyebrow in confusion and followed the assassin out of the room. Felina led the tan girl through the tunnels and into a room filled with cameras. Rewinding the tape, the two followed Chloe coming out the room and staggering down the hall. She fell to her knees, convulsing in pain and Jasmine went pale.

"Not good." She muttered. Felina shook her head, seeing the smile on Chloe's face. "At all." She agreed. "We have to find her. Quickly."

The to hurried to the tunnel entrance and sniffed the air. "This way." Felina said, leading Jasmine east.

They followed Chloe's trail through San Francisco and finally ended in an alley where a woman's feeble screams could still be heard. There were two figures at the end of the alley and both Felina and Jasmine went into fighting crouches. Moving slowly forward, the two were only two feet behind Chloe when the Uniter turned around. Standing, Chloe hissed at them and bared her claws. Jasmine's eyes widened at the sight of blood dripping from Chloe's hands and chin.

"Ch-Chloe?" she asked slowly.

Chloe hissed again and turned, running from the two Mai before her. Jasmine and Felina gladly gave chase as Chloe ran through the streets. Seeing that running in the streets could get her caught, Felina sped up until she was right behind the running Mai.

Chloe hissed at her and turned into an alley, climbing the wall and garbage cans until she reached the roof. Felina followed after her, glad Chloe had gotten out sight of anyone human. Running on the rooftops, Felina caught up to Chloe faster and tackled the girl, pinning her to the roof below them. Chloe snarled and hissed at Felina spitting droplets of blood at the killer. Felina simply held onto her and stared deep into her eyes. After a moment, Chloe calmed down and her eyes returned to blue.

"Why are you on top of me?" she demanded.

"Look at your hands and clothes Chloe." Felina replied, stepping off the girl.

Chloe stood and brushed herself off, looking at her hands and clothes. She gasped in horror and looked up at Felina. "What happened to me?" she asked, quietly.

"You murdered someone." Felina responded bluntly. "You're as much a killer as me now."

* * *

Chloe stared at the assassin in front of her before looking down at her hands. "No." she murmured. "No! I'm nothing like you!"

Turning, Chloe ran as fast as she could away from the cloaked person behind her. She heard Felina following behind her and put on a burst of speed, jumping quickly on the rooftops until she finally arrived at her house. She wanted to go inside, but knew that her mother would ask questions about her clothes and hands. From what she could feel dripping from her chin, her face had blood on it as well and this drove Chloe to start running again.

Jumping and running along more rooftops, Chloe tried to get rid of the footsteps following her. Turning, Chloe found herself on a rooftop that seemed familiar. Looking at the building, Chloe found that she had run to Jasmine's apartment building. She couldn't come here; Valentina would think she had joined the Order.

Running further, Chloe came to Paul's house. Shaking her head, Chloe continued running; Paul would think she was going to kill him too. Breathing heavily, Chloe raced to Amy's house and made to knock only to see through a window that Amy was having dinner with her family. Backing away, Chloe climbed back up and took off again.

Jumping across more rooftops, Chloe looked around frantically, but found herself cornered. She had jumped all the way to the Golden Gate bridge and there was nowhere for her to run now. Turning, Chloe saw Felina standing a few feet behind her.

"We are more alike than you think Chloe." The assassin called over the sudden thunder rising around them. Chloe looked up to see clouds forming overhead.

"No!" the blonde screamed. "No! I'm not like you. I'm nothing like you!"

Felina strode forward until she was right in front of Chloe. Taking off her hat, she let it drop to the ground and Chloe looked at her uneasily. "You don't get it, do you Chloe?" the assassin. "You and I, we're almost exactly the same."

"No we aren't." Chloe said, her voice rising in pitch. "We're nothing like each other."

Felina shook her head and pulled off her ski mask. Chloe's eyes widened as her face looked back at her.

* * *

**_Wait, what? Chloe's face looking back at her? So, like, huh? Yeah, I know. Review and tell me how you like this twist of events. Here's a clip from next chapter. _**

_Felina turned away from the Uniter. "I was and still am an outcast, Chloe. No one wants to look at me because I was born a monster and am even more so now that I have become a monster that kills."_

_Chloe walked over to the saddened murderess and put a hand on her shoulder. "Felina, you aren't a monster. It's not your fault that people can't seem to accept us."_

_Felina snorted. "Yeah, it wasn't my fault now, but think of what I've done Chloe. I've killed countless people because no one could accept who I was."_

_Chloe shook her head. "You can break away from that. You can help me show the humans that Mai aren't monsters or aliens or whatever they might think. Please Felina?"_

_Felina looked at Chloe and sighed. "I'll think about it. For now, you and Jasmine can go free." _


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter nineteen**

It was her face, but it also wasn't her face. It looked exactly like her, but it was covered in blond fur and looked more… cat-like. The nose, was a little flatter and triangular, the ears were on top of Felina's head, there were whiskers poking out of the cheeks.

"You… you're…"

"A monster?" Felina suggested. "A horrible creature? A beast so ugly you can't look at me? Go ahead and say it; I've heard it all before."

Chloe looked at the assassin slowly and found the similarities between the two. Their body shape, their stances, the look Felina had on her face.

"You're me." Chloe finally said.

Felina laughed bitterly. "No, Chloe. I merely look like you. Seventeen years ago, I was born to my father. He wanted to know why I was covered in a fine layer of blonde hair. He looked up my mother's history and found that she was descended from Bastet, just like you and me. Well, he was very angry with this and demanded to know why my brother and sister hadn't been born looking like me. My mother had cheated on him twice. She hadn't done it willingly, but the leader of the Order was threatening her and she wanted to live so she could love my father.

"I am actually my father's child, but that made no difference to him. He merely wanted to know about my brother and sister. My mother couldn't explain why they weren't Mai as well and my father kicked us both out. I was barely born, Chloe, and my father thought I was a hideous creature that shouldn't belong to him.

"That made my life much harder. I couldn't go to school because the other kids thought I was a monster sent to them from nightmares, I couldn't get a job because I would scare away the customers. My bosses would always ask, 'Can't you put on a chicken mask and take that cat mask off?' It made me feel like an outcast. Even my body was more cat than human.

"Oh, yes, I could attend masquerades. All I had to do was strip down, attach a belt to my waist and some guns to my belt, then put on some boots and a mask and I was good to go. Sometimes I even put on gloves so that it could be even more real, but every single time, I was voted with the best costume and when they told me I had to take off my mask, I would simply hand the trophy back and leave.

"Or in high school when a football player found the 'mask' to be a turn-on, they would ask me out on a date, attempt to take it too far and then found my body covered in fur and looking lean and fit. They were frightened of me, but since they knew no one would believe them, they merely told everyone I had an STD or something of the like. Do you know how hard it is going through life with people thinking you have on a mask and then when close friends ask you to take it off… you can't. They try to pull it off and find out that it's real and then abandon you."

Felina turned away from the Uniter. "I was and still am an outcast, Chloe. No one wants to look at me because I was born a monster and am even more so now that I have become a monster that kills."

Chloe walked over to the saddened murderess and put a hand on her shoulder. "Felina, you aren't a monster. It's not your fault that people can't seem to accept us."

Felina snorted. "Yeah, it wasn't my fault now, but think of what I've done Chloe. I've killed countless people because no one could accept who I was."

Chloe shook her head. "You can break away from that. You can help me show the humans that Mai aren't monsters or aliens or whatever they might think. Please Felina?"

Felina looked at Chloe and sighed. "I'll think about it. For now, you and Jasmine can go free."

Chloe nodded and turned to jump to the next rooftop. Before she did, she turned and looked one last time at the assassin that had let her go. "Thank you." She murmured before jumping away.

Felina nodded and looked at the Golden Gate Bridge. "You're welcome… cousin."

* * *

**_Well, uh now we know why she's so twisted-ish. But hey, somebody has to be made the way they are somehow. But here's a question: is she going to take Chloe up on that offer? review and tell me what you think she'll do. I won't post the next chapter until I get at least two reviews telling me what they think so far._**


	20. Chapter 20

**_Twenty_**

Chloe jumped across the rooftops until she made it to he roof of Jasmine's apartment building. She found Jasmine sitting on the edge of the roof looking down at her hands and sat next to her. "I heard the entire thing." Jasmine said softly.

"It's a hard story to have to tell." Chloe agreed.

"She was beautiful." Jasmine said.

"She was," Chloe agreed. "Even more than me."

Jasmine raised her head and looked at the blonde next to her. "Nothing could be more beautiful than you Chloe." she said softly.

Chloe shrugged and the two sat in silence for awhile. At last, Jasmine sighed and said, "We had better go in and let my mom know that we're alive."

Chloe nodded and the two jumped down the side of the building, going inside and getting on the elevator. Knocking on the apartment door, the girls waited and moments later, a weary-looking Valentina opened the door. "Jasmine Garcia-Ramirez, do you know what time it is. I-."

Valentina stopped and looked at her daughter with wide eyes. "Dear Bastet," she breathed. "You're alive." she lunged forward and hugged Jasmine to her tightly. Chloe smiled as Jasmine hugged her back.

"Chloe?" Chloe looked into the apartment to see a bleary-eyed Meredith coming forward. "Mom?" the blonde girl asked.

"Chloe!" Meredith did as Valentina had and lunged forward to hug her daughter. "You're covered in blood! What did that woman do to you?"

Valentina led the girls into the apartment so they could sit down. Amy and Paul were on the couch inside and they seemed to be crying. When they looked up and saw Chloe looking at them, they both screamed and jumped her.

"You had better never do that again!" Amy scolded her, hugging her tight.

"We thought you were dead." Paul added, hugging her as well.

"Chlorina Sapphire Marie King, you had better explain what has been going on this instant!" Meredith said seriously.

"Chlorina?" Jasmine asked, giggling slightly.

"Sapphire?" Valentina added, curiously. Meredith shrugged, but leveled Chloe with a stern gaze.

Chloe sighed and took her mother's hands. "Mom, I think we need to have another Talk."

Meredith's eyebrow furrowed. "But we already had the sex talk. And the puberty talk. And the talk about what happens during pregnancy."

Chloe cringed and said, "A slightly different talk, Mom."

Meredith nodded and everyone sat down. Meredith settled in a chair facing the couch, Chloe sat on the couch with Amy and Jasmine on either side of her, Valentina sat in another chair and Paul stationed himself on a stool by the counter. Chloe took a deep breath and slowly began to explain.


	21. Chapter 21

**Here's Chapter twenty-one guys. I was wondering, what did you guys think of Chloe's name last chapter. Chlorina because Chloe had to come from somewhere, Sapphire because of her blue eyes and Marie because no name would be perfect without it... well, some names are but it just sounded right. Anyway here you go.**

* * *

**Chapter twenty-one**

"Mom, remember when I turned sixteen and I didn't tell you everything right away?" Meredith nodded. "Well, it's because some things were kept away from you to keep you safe."

"Like the whole assassin coming after thing was to keep me safe?" Meredith asked slowly.

"Yes and no. See, I'm a descendent of the cat-goddess, Bastet and since I am her 'daughter' I guess you could say, then I have some cat-like abilities, like claws and heightened senses and landing on my feet all the time."

"So you're a cat?" Meredith asked.

"Again, yes and no. I'm half human half-cat. But anyway, apparently, I'm special. I am the Uniter. I'm supposed to get the humans and the Mai, which is what we're called, to co-exist with each other peacefully. But it's made harder by the Order. That's an organization that is trying to kill me because they want all the Mai dead. Anyway, they've sent three assassins after me so far and I'm down to only six lives."

"Wait, Felina killed you?" Valentina demanded.

"Wait, you have SIX lives? And who is Felina?" Meredith inquired.

Chloe let out an aggravated groan. "Let me speak please." She asked.

The two women nodded and Chloe continued. "Now, Being the Uniter I was born with nine lives and acquired those nine once I turned sixteen. The first assassin killed me by pushing me off the old tower. Then the second assassin killed me by shooting me five or six times in the chest and stomach. The third time, the assassin didn't kill me, but the leader himself did. Do you remember Brian?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Meredith asked.

"Because… I killed him." Chloe replied slowly.

"You did what?" Meredith exclaimed.

"He kissed me and a kiss between a human and a Mai usually leads to death. I was dead, I didn't know that he'd kissed me until I'd come back to life, but the leader of the Order is his dad and his dad wants revenge on me for killing Brian. While I was being killed, Alek was being killed as well by an assassin sent after Valentina."

They all looked to Valentina who bowed her head for Alek. "So, as revenge, Brian's dad, Whitley sent his best assassin after me, Felina. She attacked Jasmine and me with bombs, poisonous gases, lasers, and hand-to-hand combat. She kidnapped us a few days ago and kept us both prisoner in the old Jackal tunnels."

"Wait, Jackals?"

"They are descendants of Anubis, the dog-headed God. I kept one named Kai in our house once so that he could sleep and bathe and that's the only reason the Jackals didn't kill me."

Meredith put a hand to her forehead. "Wow. Ok, go on. We are going to have a talk about secretly keeping boys in the house, but continue."

Chloe nodded. "Anyway, she kept us in there and tortured us for only maybe a day, because Whitley wanted her to kill us and he came in. He stabbed me multiple times with one of her knives and killed me again. So now I only have three lives. But Felina decided not to kill us because she didn't like how Whitley had a blatant disregard of how many lives I had, so she let us go. But not before I found out that this week, next week, and the week after are both of our weeks of predatory bliss."

Valentina suddenly stood and hurried to a room at the back, coming back with a collar. She quickly wrapped it round Chloe's neck and sat back down.

"What's up with the collar?" Chloe asked, tugging at it.

"It keeps you tame during those three weeks." Valentina explained. "Have you attacked yet?" Chloe raised an eyebrow and looked down at herself and Valentina's eyes widened. "Oh." Was all she said.

Meredith looked between the two and asked, "What does Chloe being covered in blood have to do with any weeks of predatory bliss, whatever that is."

"Weeks of predatory bliss are the times when a Mai becomes most powerful and deadly." Chloe explained. "They have to be kept inside because they could kill. I hadn't had mine until now and I didn't realize it in time. I went into San Francisco and…"

Here, Chloe felt tears slide down her cheeks as she suddenly remembered the homeless woman she had killed. Jasmine patted her shoulder gently and Amy rubbed her hand. "I killed someone." Chloe finally said. "I killed someone and very nearly attacked both Jasmine and Felina. I took off running and somehow Felina was able to bring me back to my senses and she let both me and Jasmine go free. That's how we ended up back here."

Chloe didn't want to tell them what Felina looked like or what she had told her. Valentina nodded. "You should probably go get cleaned up, Chloe. Dried blood can settle into clothes and not come out and it gets very itchy on the skin."

Chloe nodded and began making her way down the hall when someone caught her hand. Looking back, Chloe saw Jasmine looking at her in concern.

"Do you need help?" the tan girl asked.

Chloe was about to say no, but then stopped when she realized that had it not been for Jasmine, she would probably be dead and this constricted her throat painfully at thinking that Jasmine would have died before she let anything happen to her. Nodding slowly, Chloe led Jasmine down the hall with her.

* * *

"You WHAT?" Felina neither cringed nor made any show of emotion at Whitley's outburst. "I'm paying you to kill the people I want dead, not set them free!"

"Actually, Whitley, you don't pay me at all. I quit."

Whitley's eyes bulged in horror. "You what?" he demanded again. "You can't quit! I initiated you!"

"No you didn't. You just promised me a warm meal and a soft bed. I willingly came and that's how our employee/boss relationship started. Now however, it is over because I quit."

"No!" Whitley shouted, making a lunge for her arm. Felina deftly moved out of the way and Whitley nearly fell.

"Where are you going to go?" he sneered. "No one will hire you with that face you have. No one wants to be near someone that's always wearing a disguise. Who will make you feel welcome when you have nothing? You are nothing more than a hideous creature that should stay behind locked walls. You shouldn't live with how you look."

Then his eyes softened. "We can fix you Felina." He said soothingly. "We can make you look human. We can change your face so that it looks just like ours, hairless, regular nose, side ears. We can cure you."

Felina smiled. "I don't need to be fixed Whitley," she said calmly. "Because I'm not broken anymore. Working for you, I was broken and unsure of myself. Chloe was right, I am not different, and even if I was, I'm different in a way that should be used to help people rather than get rid of them. Good-bye Whitley."

Whitley snarled and pulled out a gun, pointing it at her, he fired five times and killed her. Felina fell to the ground dead and Whitley stared down at her in disgust. "Another assassin I had to kill. How pitiful."

Suddenly, Felina twitched and stood back up. Whitley backed away in terror. "No, you can't be alive. Only the Uniter has nine lives. No other Mai has nine lives."

"I'm not a normal Mai." Felina told him, turning away. "And I can't be conned into working for you ever again."

She jumped out his window, did a flip and landed on her feet before racing for an abandoned warehouse. She knew that if she were to stay in the tunnels something would go terribly wrong, so she had moved all of her things to the spacious warehouse and waited, thinking of the offer Chloe had given her.


	22. Chapter 22

**_Last chapter of the story guys. I think you're in for a surprise. Tell me what you think and I'll post something new before you can blink. Be sure to review and the pleasure will come straight to you._**

* * *

**_Chapter twenty-two_**

The next day, Chloe and Jasmine awoke beside each other. Chloe had slept in the bed with Jasmine and Meredith had bunked with Valentina while Amy and Paul shared the living room. Chloe looked around and found herself snuggled into Jasmine's arms. She moved away slightly and woke Jasmine.

"What do you need?" the other girl asked. "Are you still in pain from those arrows? Do you need more ointment?"

Chloe shook her head. "Just getting up to stretch."

Jasmine nodded and laid back down as Chloe stood and stretched her sore muscles. Felina had caught her everywhere with those arrows. She hadn't gotten her somewhere vital, like in her neck, but they had still hurt. Jasmine hadn't looked any better last night. When both mothers gave their daughters body checks, they were surprised to see so many lashing marks on Jasmine's back and so many different cuts and gashes in Chloe's body. As Chloe stretched, her mind wandered to the killer that had let her go. Jasmine stood beside her and the two changed into new clothes before heading to the kitchen.

Paul and Amy were cuddled together on the couch and Chloe took a moment to coo at how cute they looked before joining Jasmine in the kitchen. As Jasmine set about making pancakes, Chloe took out the ingredients for omelets. The two girls cooked twice as much as usual because there were six people to feed rather than three. Once or twice, the girls were right next to each other and Chloe felt a slight spark whenever they touched. She merely pushed this off as being the result of not enough lotion and being so close to metal. Jasmine got finished before she did and started on the scrabble while Chloe started on the bacon.

At last the girls were finished and everything was laid out on the counter. Paul, woken by the smells filtering form the kitchen, was already at the counter waiting with a plate; Amy, woken by Paul moving, was there as well. Chloe smiled at her friends and slowly made her own plate before sitting on the xouxh and chewing slowly. Jasmine and Amy sat on either side of her and looked at her curiously.

"What's on your mind, Ms. King?" Amy asked in a formal voice.

Chloe shrugged. "I was just thinking about Felina and wondering where she is right now." Jasmine looked out the window.

"Would you like to visit the tunnels today?" she asked softly.

Chloe turned to her with a raised eyebrow. "Really?" she asked. Jasmine nodded, still chewing her omelet.

Chloe hummed, chewing a piece of bacon. A flash of where the bacon came from went through her head and it led to images of bloody animals and butchered humans, perhaps a maimed Mai here and there, and definitely a dismembered Jackal in the mix. Chloe stood to go out and attack, but then, calming visions flooded her mind and she sat back down, staring at her plate.

"What's the matter?" Amy asked.

"I… don't know exactly." Chloe replied. "The collar is tugging my neck though. Could I please take it off? Just for a moment?"

"No," Valentina replied, walking in with Meredith not far behind. "It's supposed to constrict slightly so that it can send the wavelengths to your brain and calm you down from the need to kill."

Chloe frowned, but made no further comment on the collar. Meredith sat in the chair in front of her daughter with a plate and looked at Chloe.

"So, last night happened?" she asked. Chloe nodded. "Even the bit about the assassin torturing you and shooting arrows at you?" Chloe nodded. Meredith sighed.

"Well, I knew you were special when your father found you. I just didn't know how special you were." Chloe looked over at her to see Meredith eating on a piece of scrabble thoughtfully.

Chloe quickly finished her meal and asked, "How are Frank and Vanessa?"

Meredith looked up. They're alright I guess you could say. I haven't seen them for two days because I've been worried about you. Why do you ask?"

Chloe shrugged. "I don't know. New boyfriend, went on a date, didn't stick around to hear the results. Just had to ask."

Meredith shrugged. "Well, I'll tell you some other time, when all this blows over."

Chloe nodded and turned to Jasmine. The other girl was finished eating and was simply staring off into space for a bit.

"Ready to go, Chloe?" she asked without looking at the girl at all.

"Yeah." Chloe replied, standing.

"Where are you two off to?" Meredith and Amy asked.

"We're going back to the Jackal tunnels to see Felina." Chloe replied, heading for the door.

"I'm coming too." Valentina told them, putting her plate in the sink.

"Us too." Amy said, grabbing Paul.

"I want to have some words with the woman that shot you with arrows." Meredith added, standing as well.

Chloe rolled her eyes, but smiled as she and Jasmine led the way through the city to the tunnels. They were only a few blocks away when there was a large explosion and the ground shook. Only Chloe and Jasmine kept their balance on the uneven ground as the others bent down on their knees to keep from falling. Jasmine and Chloe looked at each other and ran to the tunnels as fast as they could. Chloe stopped at what she found. The tunnels had been bombed, blown to smithereens. She looked around and found no trace of anything that could have shown life and sighed. The entire place was burning; anything that had somehow managed to survive the explosion was burning to a crisp. The others hurried over and gazed at the ruined building in awed horror.

"Who do you think did it?" Meredith asked.

"The Order." Chloe and Jasmine replied.

"They knew she'd let us go and bombed the place in order to stop her from joining us." Jasmine said.

"Of course, the explosion would have only cut me down to seven lives." A voice overhead stated calmly. "But I couldn't let that happen anyway because I still needed to help my cousin Unite the different prides and the two species."

Everyone looked up to see Felina standing on a nearby rooftop. Jumping down smoothly, she approached them. "I've decided to take you up on your offer Chloe." She said. "I'll join you."

She turned to the humans and slowly took off her hat and mask. Amy and Paul gasped while Valentina's eyes widened in surprise. Meredith was the only one to physically react; she punched Felina in the nose. The former assassin staggered and held her nose for a moment. Growling, she raised her head and lunged at Meredith. Valentina intercepted her just in time and the two went rolling, Felina clawing at Valentina's neck and face as the tan woman tried to get the collar around her neck. At last, Valentina clipped the collar into place and Felina slowly calmed down.

"What the hell did you just do to me?" she asked softly, tugging at the collar.

"It will keep you tame for the next two and a half weeks." Valentina told her.

"Ok, now why am I the only one getting punched in the nose? Do I really look that ugly?"

"No, actually you look great!" Paul said, checking her out. Amy slapped him on the arm and he quickly averted his eyes.

"You do look really pretty." Amy added.

Meredith's eyes narrowed slightly. "Chloe," she said. "Come stand next to Felina for a moment." Chloe walked up so that she was right beside Felina and the four humans gasped in surprise.

"She looks just like you!" Amy whispered.

"Except, you know, furrier." Paul added. Chloe looked to Felina and the two of them laughed.

"Come, let's head back to the apartment." Valentina said. Everyone headed back to the apartment and sat down around the living room.

"Now, what are you exactly?" Meredith asked, trying to break the awkward ice.

"Mom!" Chloe gasped.

"I just want to know." Meredith said. "She's covered in fur and looks like a cat!"

"I am just like Chloe and Jasmine." Felina replied simply. "I am just slightly different. According to my mother when I was born, I looked like this and she believed me to be the Uniter. She died getting me to San Francisco when I was eight. She thought me to be the Uniter because I was covered in fur. I however think I look like this because my father didn't know he was a Mai."

Chloe cocked her head. "So your dad was Mai too?"

"He had to have been. Jackals and Mai don't go well together and if he were human, he would have died." Chloe nodded.

"So you're a Mai too?" Meredith clarified.

Felina nodded. "Though, it appears that I am a direct descendent of one of the first Mai, because I have nine lives and am empathetic as well."

Chloe's eyes lit up. "You have nine lives too?" she asked.

"Eight now that Whitley's killed me." Chloe nodded. Valentina stood. "Anyone hungry?" she asked. Everyone nodded.

"So, like, how do you know Chloe anyway?" Paul inquired.

Felina chuckled and looked at Chloe. "It seems that Chloe is actually my cousin, meaning she is a direct descendent of the first Mai as well. I believe that we are both to unite the prides together with the help of Jasmine."

"Me?" Jasmine asked. "Why me?"

"Well, I've researched the prophecy since yesterday and everything seems to be falling into place. Since it wasn't your cousin, it must be you since there aren't any other family members left. Valentina may come if she chooses, as can Meredith. Paul and Amy, I'm not sure because some of the Mai tribes aren't as open to humans as this one."

"We're Chloe's best friends." Amy said. "We come no matter what." Chloe looked to her and Amy nodded. Chloe smiled at her and turned back to Felina to see the ex-assassin looking out the window.

"You ok?" Chloe asked softly as Meredith, Valentina, Paul and Jasmine all got together and began making plans for how they would do this. Felina nodded.

"I am just thinking about how my life could have been different had I been born with human traits, but Mai abilities. Would my family really have wanted me or not?" Chloe patted her hand softly and made Felina look at her.

"We'll find you a family." The blonde girl said. "I promise."

Felina smiled at her, but just before she could say anything, there was a beeping sound and she screamed, "Everyone, GET DOWN!"

**_To Be Continued…_**

* * *

**_Next story will be A Whole New World. Tell me if you'd like to read it and I'll post it asap._**


End file.
